Give Us Free!

We have the option of not only taking classes taught by NYU in Ghana professors (who are recruited from local universities in Ghana) or taking classes at Ashesi University and the University of Ghana. This is one of the better aspects of this program. By sitting side by side in a classroom with Ghanaian students who are our age, we all hope to gain a better understanding of the culture here. To provide some insight, Ashesi is to UG what NYU would be to a SUNY or CUNY school. Education has been free (more like highly subsidized) in Ghana for about 5 years now so the UG serves about 33,000+ students. Ashesi is a private university that is attended by many of Ghana's more elite or affluent students. Anyway, we can take classes at both schools.

Today, we visited both campuses. Ashesi is small, intimate, and closed in - they only have about 350 students. UG on the other hand, was breathtaking. It took us about 45 minutes to drive around the entire campus. It was HUGE. Like, the size that you are picturing right now as you read this, triple it. That is how big UG is.

The UG offers pretty much every single discipline of study you can imagine. They had departments for stuff NYU doesn't even have. We visited the Music/Dance Department, the Archaeology Department, and the Sociology Department. They have a business school, a law school, I think a medical school - basically everything. I was a little jealous.

If the size and structure of the campus wasn't mind boggling enough, the students themselves really surprised me. Up until today, we had spent much of our time in Labone (lah-bone-ay) and a few hours in Osu so we really hadn't seen people our age who were also students. The kids at Ashesi and UG were dressed pretty much the same way that we were. Jeans and polos, Vans, flip flops, skirts, v-neck t-shirts etc. That whole 80s retro thing that seems to be sweeping across the States hasn't really caught on here (thank God), but most of the students would fit right in at NYU or any other US college.

The fact that they can go to college for about $800/semester (and sometimes less than that) makes me smh. I guess that's the purpose of state schools though right? They give poorer people the opportunity to get college educations at affordable prices. But check this out, apparently UG is a hott mess. You take the good, you take the bad. The beauracracy is ridiculous. I should have known when we had to submit our applications a few months ago and had to HAND-WRITE the same application literally three times. Like literally submit three hand-written copies of the same paperwork in a group of three. We learned that the school hasn't exactly caught up to the new age yet. Classes can get cancelled or change days/times whenever and no one sends out an email, a postcard, a text message, nothing. It's nothing for a professor to be an hour late to lecture or not show up at all. An hour late? Really? I have a New York state of mind. I'm sorry. The culture in Ghana is very what they call "laid back." No one really worries about silly little things like time. Apparently patience is a virtue here and it's something I should be developing with my time here. I'm VERY impatient by my own admission. Everything here is at a muuuuch slower pace. People just kind of chill. It's a very different atmosphere from Manhattan where everything is go go go. Fast pace and very impersonal.

I guess the issues with time and class size are a part of the deal. We've been hearing a lot in US poitical discussions about making education and healthcare universal and free or at a very low cost to all. I know Ghana is literally a different world, but can you ever really have it all? A top notch university that costs little to nothing? Should we consider things like this when we advocate for universal healthcare, public schooling, tuition reform etc.? It all sounds good in theory, but let's analyze the repercussions. What will healthcare really be like if it is affordable to everyone? 

As my day ends, I really reflect on my impressions of the University of Ghana. I found myself more attracted to taking classes as Ashesi because 1. It is physically closer to our campus and dorm. UG is a good 30-45 min drive away 2. I am not used to sitting in a class of 5 or 600 students. I had a few classes of about 300 and that was excessive and 3. The beaurucratic issues would get to me. I already know it. 

I still have time to decide between the two schools. I could always take classes in a combination of the two as well. Or just audit a class at UG... we'll see. In the mean time, Ghanaian Lesson #3: Simplicity is Overrated. Nothing is ever as easy or simple as we like to assume. Everything has a price. Even if you aren't the one to pay it. 

maakye (maa-che) = good morning