Ghana and Italy have taken significant steps toward strengthening educational cooperation following a high-level bilateral meeting between Ghana’s Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, and Italy’s Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Laura Ranalli, in Accra on Monday.
The meeting, held at the Ambassador’s residence, brought together senior government officials, education policymakers, and academic leaders from both countries to explore opportunities for collaboration in higher education, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), research, innovation, scholarships, and international student exchange programmes.
Leading the Italian delegation was Professor Daniela Mapelli, Rector of the University of Padua, who made history in 2021 as the first woman in more than 800 years to head the prestigious institution. She was accompanied by a delegation of senior Italian academic and diplomatic officials.
The Ghanaian delegation included Chief Director of the Ministry of Education, Mrs. Lydia Essuah; Chief Technical Advisor to the Ministry, Prof. George K. T. Oduro; Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai; Director of Legal at the Ministry of Education, Ms. Matilda Azuimah; and GTEC’s Director for Corporate Affairs, Mr. Jerry Sarfo.
Addressing the gathering, Mr Haruna Iddrisu reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to fostering stronger educational partnerships with Italian institutions.
“We will support the Italians to establish collaborations with Ghanaian universities on all programmes they wish to undertake and ensure that everything is done properly and within the appropriate regulatory framework,” the Minister stated.
He emphasized that GTEC would play a pivotal role in overseeing accreditation and quality assurance processes for all joint academic programmes arising from the partnership.
The Minister also outlined key elements of the government’s education transformation agenda, including plans to establish a dedicated TVET Fund to strengthen technical and vocational education through closer collaboration between academia and industry.
In addition, he disclosed plans to expand foreign language education at the Senior High School level by introducing languages such as Italian, German, Spanish, and Chinese.
“The objective is to equip Ghanaian students with the global competencies needed to compete and thrive in an increasingly interconnected world,” he noted.
Professor Mapelli, for her part, highlighted the University of Padua’s commitment to internationalisation and academic cooperation across borders.
“We are particularly interested in expanding exchange programmes, especially for PhD students, and we see Ghanaian universities as valuable partners in advancing research and academic excellence,” she said.
She revealed that the University of Padua already maintains a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and is seeking to broaden its partnerships with other Ghanaian institutions, particularly members of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), which is hosted by the University of Ghana.
Responding to the proposal, Mr Iddrisu encouraged the Italian delegation to consider institutions such as Tamale Technical University, the University of Cape Coast, and the University of Mines and Technology for future collaboration, depending on their respective academic strengths and mandates.
He further advised the delegation to utilise information available through GTEC to identify suitable institutions for strategic partnerships and encouraged Italian authorities to formally communicate available scholarship opportunities and eligibility requirements to facilitate greater participation by Ghanaian students and researchers.
The discussions also touched on preparations for an official visit to Ghana by Italy’s Minister for Education, scheduled for August 3, 2026.
By Daniel Opoku
