Ghana and Italy have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation in education, with a focus on tertiary education, technical and vocational training, research, innovation, scholarships and academic exchange programmes.
The renewed commitment was made at a high-level meeting between the Minister of Education, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, and the Italian Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Laura Ranalli, at the Ambassador’s residence in Accra on Monday.
The meeting brought together senior officials from Ghana’s education sector and representatives of Italian academic institutions to explore opportunities for deeper collaboration.
The Italian delegation included the Rector of the University of Padua, Prof. Daniela Mapelli, the first woman to lead the institution in its more than 800-year history.
On the Ghanaian side were the Chief Director of the Ministry of Education, Mrs Lydia Essuah; the Chief Technical Advisor to the Ministry, Prof. George K.T. Oduro; the Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai; the Director of Legal at the Ministry, Ms Matilda Azuimah; and the Director of Corporate Affairs at GTEC, Mr Jerry Sarfo.
Addressing the meeting, Mr Iddrisu assured the Italian delegation of the government’s readiness to facilitate partnerships between Ghanaian and Italian universities.
He explained that Ghana would support collaborative programmes between institutions in both countries and ensure that such initiatives met the required regulatory and quality assurance standards.
According to him, GTEC would play a central role in overseeing accreditation and maintaining quality standards for programmes developed under the proposed partnerships.
Mr Iddrisu also disclosed that the government planned to establish a dedicated Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Fund to strengthen technical education and deepen collaboration between industry and educational institutions.
He further outlined plans to expand foreign language education at the Senior High School level, including the introduction of Italian, German, Spanish and Chinese.
He said the initiative was aimed at equipping students with global competencies and enhancing their prospects for international engagement.
For her part, Prof. Mapelli highlighted the University of Padua’s strong commitment to internationalisation and academic cooperation.
She noted that the university was particularly interested in expanding exchange programmes, especially for doctoral students, and considered Ghanaian universities as valuable partners.
Prof. Mapelli disclosed that the university already had a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and was seeking to extend collaboration to other Ghanaian institutions, particularly members of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), hosted by the University of Ghana.
Mr Iddrisu encouraged the Italian delegation to explore partnerships with institutions such as the Tamale Technical University, the University of Cape Coast and the University of Mines and Technology, based on their respective areas of specialisation.
He also advised the delegation to consult information provided by GTEC on Ghana’s public universities and their mandates to identify suitable partners.
The Minister further urged the Italian side to formally communicate available scholarship opportunities and eligibility criteria to enable more Ghanaian students and researchers to benefit.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
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