The Vice -Chancellor, University of Ghana, Prof. Nana Amfo, has called for reforms in higher education to equip graduates with critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving skills.
She made the call while delivering the keynote address at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) International Week 2026.
The event had the theme “Re-imagining Pedagogy and Teaching for Higher Education in the 21st Century”.
She said universities must rethink their teaching methods, curricula and assessment systems to prepare students for a rapidly-changing world shaped by artificial intelligence and other emerging challenges.
She said the purpose of higher education should extend beyond preparing students for employment to developing intellectual independence, ethical judgment, adaptability and commitment to public service.
According to her, universities must equip graduates to interrogate information, identify problems, investigate their causes and develop solutions while collaborating with people from diverse backgrounds.
The vice-chancellor said that African universities had a responsibility to produce the knowledge, leadership and capabilities needed to address challenges such as public health, food security, environmental sustainability and inequality.
She advised that higher education should not focus solely on immediate developmental needs, noting that the humanities, arts, fundamental sciences and theoretical research remained essential.
“At a time when technology can generate answers with remarkable speed, the capacity to ask good questions may be more valuable than ever,” she said.
She said traditional lecture-based teaching remained valuable but should be complemented with problem-based learning, case studies, simulations, collaborative projects, fieldwork and community-engaged learning.
She said such approaches would enable students to participate actively in constructing, testing and applying knowledge rather than merely receiving information.
The vice-chancellor cited the University of Ghana’s Student Venture Support Programme as an initiative that encouraged students to develop entrepreneurial ideas and translate them into viable ventures.
She said the programme helped students to identify problems, test assumptions, communicate ideas, respond to criticism and manage uncertainty.
The professor also highlighted the Tetra Mapa Initiative exploring how artificial intelligence and speech recognition technologies could reduce communication barriers for persons with speech impairments while incorporating Ghanaian languages.
She said the initiative demonstrated the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration involving linguistics, technology, disability studies and engagement with affected communities.
On curriculum development, she called for greater interdisciplinary learning, saying that contemporary challenges rarely fell neatly within individual academic disciplines.
On curriculum development, she called for greater interdisciplinary learning, saying that contemporary challenges rarely fell neatly within individual academic disciplines.
She said the University of Ghana was reviewing its required courses to incorporate digital literacy and applied artificial intelligence alongside proposed learning in gender, equality, disability and inclusion.
The professor also advocated curricula that would recognise African languages, histories, intellectual traditions and contemporary experiences without rejecting international scholarship.
She said that decolonising education should involve critically examining whose perspectives were prioritised and whose contributions had been overlooked.
“The goal is not intellectual isolation. It is intellectual confidence, producing graduates who can engage with the world while remaining grounded in the societies from which they come,” she said.
The vice-chancellor stressed that inclusive education required universities to remove barriers preventing students with disabilities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds from participating fully in learning.
She said institutions should provide accessible learning materials, flexible assessment methods, appropriate support systems and technologies that address students’ diverse needs.
She said that technological innovation did not necessarily require sophisticated equipment, stressing the importance of choosing solutions that would expand meaningful learning opportunities.
She said that technological innovation did not necessarily require sophisticated equipment, stressing the importance of choosing solutions that would expand meaningful learning opportunities.
She cited the University of Ghana’s One Student, One Laptop programme as an initiative aimed at improving students’ access to digital devices.
On Artificial Intelligence, she urged universities to avoid both uncritical adoption and outright prohibition, advocating responsible integration into teaching, learning and research.
She said universities should reconsider assessment methods to determine whether students understood concepts and could explain and defend their reasoning.
According to her, oral examinations, portfolios, presentations, practical demonstrations and project-based assessments could complement conventional examinations.
The professor also urged African universities to contribute their languages, knowledge systems, research and ethical perspectives to the development of Artificial Intelligence.
She warned that inadequate representation of African languages in digital technologies could reinforce existing linguistics and knowledge inequalities.
The vice-chancellor called on university leaders to invest in professional development, recognise teaching excellence, support innovation and involve students in improving learning experiences.
She said research and teaching excellence should complement each other, adding that institutional policies should encourage lecturers to experiment with effective teaching approaches.
She urged African universities to produce graduates capable of shaping the future rather than merely participating in a world designed by others.
She said universities must remain intellectually rigorous, socially responsive, globally connected, locally grounded and committed to human values.
“The true measure of technological innovation is not how differently we teach but how deeply our students learn, how independently they think, and how meaningfully they are able to contribute to societies,” she said.