The University of Ghana, through the Legon Centre for Education Research and Policy (LECERP), has secured a €1 million research grant under the European Union’s Erasmus+ Programme to support the transformation of higher education systems in Ghana and across Africa.
The grant, which will be administered by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), brings together a consortium of nine institutions from Africa and Europe to implement a collaborative project aimed at strengthening teaching, learning and regulatory frameworks in higher education.
The project, titled “Transitioning Higher Education Regulators and Universities to Competence-Based Education in East and West Africa” and operating under the acronym TRUCE, seeks to build the capacity of higher education institutions to adopt Competence-Based Education. It focuses on developing industry-responsive curricula and assessment systems that better align academic training with labour market needs, while also supporting faculty and regulatory bodies in delivering competence-based education across institutions.
The consortium comprises LECERP at the University of Ghana, Makerere University, Mountains of the Moon University, the University of Education, Winneba, the University of Barcelona, the Pedagogical Institute of Portugal, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, the National Council for Higher Education in Uganda and the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture.
The project is led by the Director of LECERP, Dr. Clement Adamba, and coordinated by Dr. Joyce Senya Ama Anku of the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Ghana.
Speaking on the significance of the award, Dr. Adamba described the grant as both timely and strategic for Ghana’s education sector. He explained that the initiative aligns with the Ministry of Education’s ongoing efforts to transition university education to a competence-based model, particularly in anticipation of students currently being trained under the competence-based curriculum at the Senior High School level.
He further noted that the project supports the University of Ghana’s strategic priority of delivering a transformative student experience, highlighting teaching and learning approaches that enhance student readiness, relevance and employability.
The project is expected to foster closer collaboration among African and European institutions, with a shared focus on practical reforms that make higher education more responsive to the needs of society and the labour market.