Page 1 of 21
Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 11, No. 1
Publication Date: January 25, 2024
DOI:10.14738/assrj.111.13167.
Mensah, P. K. (2024). Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities of Funding in Public Universities in Ghana in the Context of
Declining State Subvention. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 11(1). 107-127.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities of Funding in Public
Universities in Ghana in the Context of Declining State
Subvention
Paul Kwasi Mensah
Training and Development Section
University of Cape Coast Ghana
ABSTRACT
The role of tertiary education for socio-economic development globally demands
adequate funding to effectively train high-quality experts in the current knowledge
economy. However, the funding support from government for tertiary education
institutions in Ghana after independence had declined due to equally important
demand for other infrastructure services. The study objectives aim at examining
the funding challenges in public universities and how these universities explore the
available opportunities to mobilize extra resources for effective delivery of their
core mandate. This study used a mixed method approach for data collection. The
findings reveal that there are delays in state subvention payments which force some
universities to contract bank loans at high interest rates to pay staff salaries.
Further, the state issue policy directives to restrict resource mobilization efforts of
the universities. Despite the state funding challenges, the universities would
require state funding to deliver effectively. Other funding opportunities that could
be accessed to supplement state subvention are commercial ventures, endowment
funds and prudent management of available fund. The need to manage effects of
state regulatory policies in the universities is imperative. The universities should
utilize their varied expertise to establish capacity development programmes for
commercial purposes to mobilize funds.
Keywords: National Financial Crisis, High-Quality Experts, Restrict Resource
Mobilization, Consortium of Trainers
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Higher education institutions are known to play a key role in the high-quality production of
skills and knowledge innovation in the current knowledge economy, resulting from their core
mandate of production, application and dissemination of knowledge (Bailey et al. 2011: 3). A
recent role of higher education has been the focus on production of scientific knowledge which
is considered vital to improve upon productivity and support the growth and development of
specific industries that have regional and national relevance (Cloete and Maassen 2015:4).
Despite the importance of higher education in the 21st century for enriching lives and
engineering economic prosperity for nations (Johnstone 2006:13), it is beset with resource
challenges which emanate from cuts in state funding in the sector, the hardest hit being in Africa
(Kigotho 2015:1). The reduction in government funding of higher education is mostly informed
Page 2 of 21
108
Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 11, Issue 1, January-2024
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
by declining public revenue attributable to difficulties with mobilizing tax revenue (Johnstonne
2003:354). There are also competing public needs for the same limited revenue, some of which
are highly politically motivated and prioritized (ibid.).
African countries after independence embarked on extensive higher education to train and
develop human resource needs of the civil/public service professions to solve the severe
shortage of skilled manpower resulting from the departure of the colonial administrators and
professionals (Carnoy et al. 2013 in Cloete and Maassen 2015:7). The relevance of higher
education in the newly-independent African countries was accentuated by the now-famous
‘Accra declaration’ to make all universities ‘development universities’ (Yesufu 1973). The
development path being pursued in Africa was so vital that the universities could not be left to
be managed by the academics alone but should be government’s responsibility to guide and
control them towards development direction (ibid.).
At the same period the World Bank relying on the ‘rate of return to investment in education’
study by Psacharopoulos et al. (1986 cited in Cloete and Maassen 2015:8) decided Africa should
refocus its efforts on developing basic education. The World Bank at a meeting with Vice
Chancellors in Harare in 1986 argued that higher education in Africa was a luxury and most
African countries should close universities at home and train graduates overseas (Cloete and
Maassen 2015:8). The effects of the anti-tertiary education stance of the World Bank in Ghana
where the management, control and funding were fully under the control of government is not
far-fetched. Successive governments faced with political crisis and economic pressures reduced
tertiary education funding in Ghana since 1980, with a percentage GDP allocation to tertiary
dropped from 6.4 percent in 1976 to 1.0 percent in 1983 (SAPRI 2001).
Duwiejua (2015:13) has established the funding gap in tertiary education institutions in Ghana
as follows: 2011:39.7%; 2012:79%; 2013: 49.2%; 2014: 46.6%; and 2015: 41.0%. The funding
challenges in tertiary education institutions in Ghana is not restricted to inadequacy, but also
untimeliness of government funds allocation, sharing of funding responsibilities as well as the
efficient utilization and management of the limited resources (Manuh et al. 2007:97). Tertiary
education institutions therefore have resorted to intense and diversified income generating
operations to mobilize extra resources to finance their mandate delivery to be competitive and
remain in business (UCC 2015:43).
Specifically, this study objectives are to:
• Assess the challenges public universities encounter while accessing internal resources
for their operations;
• Examine the exiting opportunities public universities could explore to mobilize extra
resources needed to finance their operations; and
• Recommend the way forward for improving funding in public universities in Ghana.
Study Approach
This study is an extract from the doctoral dissertation of one of the authors which focused on
the funding dilemmas in tertiary education institutions in Ghana and how public universities
mobilize internal resources to deliver their core mandate as state subvention payment decline.
The study basically draws on the findings, discussions and recommendations of the doctoral