Too Much Schooling, Too Little Education - Prof. Sefa Dei

From Joe Kingsley Eyiah, OCT, Toronto-Canada

A renowned professor of sociology based in Toronto has asked Ghanaians to make their schooling more relevant to the community in which they live and help address the challenges that confront Ghanaians as a people. Prof George Sefa Dei of the Sociology Department of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto made these remarks when contributing to a panel discussion at the 1st Annual Ghanaian Canadian Youth Leadership Summit which took place on Saturday May 19th, 2012, under the theme: “This is our Time to be the POSITIVE CHANGE…Yes We Can.”

Prof. Dei decried the culture of individualism among Ghanaians especially those who have gone to school a lot and pointed out that such “successful” Ghanaians who shy from the Ghanaian community or keep to themselves wherever they are, are not truly educated. For, true education, he said, does not make one selfish! It rather equips the educated for service to his/her community. He therefore employed all educated Ghanaians to develop the culture of responsibility and serve their community to bring development to all.

On our culture, Prof. Dei encouraged Ghanaians in Diaspora, especially the youth not to shun the speaking of the Ghanaian language but rather learn and develop in it. He described culture as dynamic and it is incumbent upon Ghanaians everywhere to preserve our rich culture and make it relevant to the development of the community in which they live. He also entreated the youth in particular not to forget our history! The sacrifices made by our forefathers and their parents of late should be appreciated, respected and serve as motivation for them to achieve better development for themselves and the Ghanaian community. Prof. Dei then took Ghanaians to task on the culture of materialism whereby we chase material things all our lives instead of giving to build our communities. He asked Ghanaians to therefore set their priorities right!

The First Annual Ghanaian Canadian Youth Leadership Summit which took place on Saturday, May 19th, 2012 in Toronto was sponsored by the Ghanaian Canadian Association of Ontario.