University of Ghana’s Prof. Isaac Wiafe and Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu Champion AI Integration Amid Curriculum Approval Concerns

Ghana’s education sector is navigating a significant shift toward digital literacy as the government moves to integrate advanced technology into the national curriculum, even as academic leaders warn of bureaucratic hurdles. Minister for Education Haruna Iddrisu recently announced a revised national curriculum framework that will introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, coding, and electronics at the basic education level. This initiative, supported by a forthcoming report from the National Curriculum Review Committee, aims to equip students with practical skills and ethical values from an early age. However, Professor Isaac Wiafe from the University of Ghana’s Department of Computer Science has raised concerns that the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission’s (GTEC) slow approval processes for AI curricula are hindering the nation’s technological progress, often rendering programs obsolete before they are even launched.

During an inaugural lecture, Prof. Wiafe argued that AI remains "irrelevant" to Ghana unless it is made accessible to ordinary citizens, including individuals with disabilities. He cautioned against digital dependency and cultural homogenization, urging for a human-centered transformation that prioritizes local innovation over external expertise. To this end, the University of Ghana is engaged in collaborative efforts like 'Project Euphonia,' which seeks to improve speech recognition technology for diverse local languages. Wiafe called on GTEC to transform its quality assurance processes to be more responsive to the rapid pace of technological change, ensuring that tertiary education remains relevant in the global AI landscape.

Parallel to these curriculum reforms, Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang recently reviewed the progress of the Ghana National Research Fund. The Fund has successfully transitioned into a fully operational national institution with a functional Secretariat, aimed at addressing national development challenges such as sanitation and job creation through research and innovation. The Vice President emphasized the importance of research providing practical, life-improving solutions and encouraged the Governing Board, led by Professor Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, to foster sustainable funding partnerships with the private sector.

While the push for a more technologically advanced educational system gains momentum, officials are also contending with social challenges within schools. Minister Iddrisu highlighted a worrying rise in school indiscipline, specifically citing the destruction of CCTV cameras at Prempeh College as an example of behavior that undermines the progress of the education system. As the country prepares for the official launch of the new curriculum framework, the success of Ghana’s digital strategy will likely depend on balancing these ambitious educational goals with the need for faster regulatory approvals and improved student discipline.