Legal scholar and governance expert Prof. Kwaku Asare, widely known as Kwaku Azar, has criticised former Education Minister Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum over his comments describing some university programmes as “useless” and “degrees to nowhere”.
In a Facebook post, Prof. Asare responded to remarks attributed to Dr Adutwum, who reportedly questioned the value of Development Studies at the University for Development Studies (UDS) and the BA Education (Non-Teaching) programme at the University of Ghana.
Dr. Adutwum made the comments during an appearance on the Konnected Minds Podcast, where he discussed how some academic programmes align with labour market needs.
Prof. Asare disagreed with the broad characterisation and said it oversimplifies a complex issue. He acknowledged that universities must improve graduate outcomes, but he warned against dismissing entire fields of study.
He stressed that universities should not be judged only by how directly a degree leads to a job. Instead, he explained that many programmes build broad and transferable skills such as critical thinking, communication, research, policy analysis, project management, and problem-solving.
He pointed out that Development Studies graduates work across government institutions, NGOs, international organisations, development finance agencies, consulting firms, and research bodies.
He also noted that graduates of BA Education (Non-Teaching) contribute to areas such as education policy, curriculum design, administration, assessment systems, educational technology, human resource development, and public service.
According to him, the real concern should not be whether a discipline has value, but whether universities equip students with skills that match changing labour market demands.
Prof. Asare called for stronger accountability in higher education. He recommended publishing graduate employment data, updating curricula regularly, improving labour-market forecasting, and strengthening digital, analytical, and entrepreneurial training across all disciplines.
He also cautioned against blaming universities alone for unemployment among graduates. He argued that broader economic conditions play a major role in job creation and labour absorption.
“A weak economy can produce unemployed engineers, lawyers, accountants, doctors, and computer scientists just as easily as unemployed humanities graduates,” he said.
He concluded that improving graduate outcomes requires both education reform and wider economic transformation. He also urged stronger political systems that focus on real development rather than what he described as “machines of patronage, profiteering, polarisation, and propaganda”.
