A Ghanaian academic and native of the Savannah Region, Dr. Sanusi Zankawah, has petitioned President John Dramani Mahama to reconsider the government’s decision to allocate $30 million from a Chinese grant to the Catholic Church for the establishment of a Catholic University for Science and Technology in the region.
In a detailed letter addressed to the President, Dr. Zankawah praised Mr. Mahama’s vision for equitable and inclusive national development but expressed concern that channeling public funds through a religious institution could lead to exclusion, inefficiency, and mistrust among residents.
Dr. Zankawah cited two major examples, the West Gonja Hospital, now St. Anne’s Catholic Hospital, and the St. Anne’s Girls Senior High School as cautionary cases where Catholic management reportedly resulted in declining service quality, low morale, and reduced community confidence.
He noted that the transformation of the West Gonja Hospital, initially upgraded by the government during Mahama’s first administration, has since seen shortages of essential supplies, high staff turnover, and complaints of exclusionary leadership. Similarly, St. Anne’s Girls Senior High School was described as underperforming compared to other Catholic schools in Ghana, with low enrollment and poor academic outcomes.
The petition further highlighted the struggles of existing faith-based and private universities in Ghana, including the Catholic University of Ghana at Fiapre, which face sustainability and low enrollment issues. Dr. Zankawah argued that establishing another faith-based university in one of the country’s least developed regions could worsen access challenges, especially given the high tuition often charged by private institutions.
As an alternative, Dr. Zankawah proposed that the funds be redirected to establish a Savannah University of Science and Technology (SUST), a public, non-denominational institution aimed at promoting innovation, inclusivity, and sustainable development in the northern sector.
He outlined a visionary plan for SUST, proposing specialized schools in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, Medicine and Health Sciences, Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Agriculture and Renewable Energy, and Engineering and ICT. The proposed university, he said, would help drive Ghana’s participation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution while addressing regional educational and developmental needs.
Dr. Zankawah emphasized that his petition was not an attack on the Catholic Church but a call for public resources to be used in a manner that promotes national unity and equal opportunity for all Ghanaians.
“A publicly funded Catholic university risks deepening division and repeating the painful lessons of the West Gonja Hospital,” he wrote. “A Savannah University of Science and Technology, however, would unite people of all backgrounds and faiths around a shared vision of progress.”
He concluded by urging President Mahama to adopt the proposal as a legacy project that would stand as a “beacon of inclusion and innovation,” similar to how the University for Development Studies (UDS) was established under President Jerry John Rawlings.
Source: Padfm.com.gh/Dr. Sanusi Zankawah.
