Patrick Awuah is from Ghana. He left to study abroad. Later, Awuah returned to his home country with a hefty goal. He intended to change Africa through education. He saw that Africa faced many problems, but thought he could offer aid best through providing adequate post-secondary schooling. In Ghana, there are very few that get to go to post-secondary schooling. There is a mere 5 percent that receive this higher education. Another inadequate part of the country’s schooling is their literacy rate. Ghana has a low adult literacy rate of only “65 percent.” Awuah says that though some do graduate from college, they only have education in theory; they do not have the practical skills and real application knowledge they need to succeed. He started a private college with little funding from the National Bank, and no governmental funding. His goal was not only to increase the skills and knowledge base of the pupils, but to increase their marketability as well. Awuah had a further goal; to help society through those being educated. All “470 students are required to do community service before graduating” in an effort to inspire leadership and positive change for society.
It can be seen in adult literacy rates from Ghana that many of the people probably did not get the primary schooling that the Millennium Goals are working toward now. Inadequate education is a global social problem because it affects many people, and it can to an extent be solved. A country of people that cannot read are not going to be very marketable, and therefore, not very useful to the global economy. If students do not receive adequate schooling early on in primary grades, it will lead to later problems like low marketability. Awuah shows us that though there are problems with education, there is also an opportunity for education to be a solution to social problems. The students in this college are making a positive change in their society and their attitudes about such through the opportunity of education.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/17/world/africa/17iht-educSide17.html?_r=1&ref=internationaleducation
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