The Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Education, Prof. Kwesi Yankah, has held a meeting with Hon. Sam Phillip Gyimah, the United Kingdom’s Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation.

Prof. Kwesi Yankah used the opportunity, whilst attending the European Higher Education Area (EHEA 2018) conference in Palais Brongniart, in Paris France, to discuss issues of possible collaboration and partnership between Ghana and the UK in the tertiary education sector. Both Ministers attended the EHEA 2018 conference which took place in France from 23rd to 25th May, 2018.

Since his appointment in 2017, Prof. Yankah has introduced a lot of reforms in the tertiary sector of education and continues to be at the forefront of transforming higher education in Ghana to bridge the gap between academia and industry.

The tertiary sector of the Ministry of Education is currently undergoing several reforms and it is expected that these reforms will change the face of universities and tertiary institutions generally in Ghana. Government of Ghana has a high priority agenda for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and it is in line with this that the meeting with the UK Minister of State in charge of Universities, Science, Research and Innovation is very relevant.

Ghanaian universities already enjoy some forms of partnership and collaboration agreements with several international institutions and enterprises to share innovation and technology resources, build capacities of faculty, share resources etc. This anticipated collaborations would complement existing agreements but also focus on Government’s priority areas as Ghana seeks to move towards industrial development.

Hon. Sam Gyimah was an elected Member of Parliament for East Surrey Constituency in 2010. He is of Ghanaian descent and was appointed a joint Minister for Higher Education at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Education on 9 January 2018.

It was not a coincidence that both Ministers of State of the respective countries have met to discuss possible partnership and collaboration arrangements between Ghana and UK. Both Ministers of State have deeper understanding of emerging trends in educational policy reforms, educational management and administration in global education.

Prof. Kwesi Yankah has extended official invitation to Hon. Sam Gyimah to Ghana to explore possible avenues of partnership and collaborations between Ghana and UK universities.