The Minister for Education, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, has reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to deepening educational cooperation with Italy during a high-level bilateral meeting with the Italian Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Laura Ranalli, at the Ambassador’s residence in Accra, on Monday, 8th June, 2026.
The engagement brought together senior education officials and academic leaders from both countries to explore strategic partnerships in tertiary education, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), research, innovation, scholarships, and international student exchanges.
The Italian delegation included the Rector of the Università di Padova (University of Padua), Professor Daniela Mapelli, who made history in 2021 as the first woman in over 800 years to lead the prestigious Italian university.
She was accompanied by other dignitaries from Italy.
The Ghanaian delegation was led by Hon. Haruna Iddrisu and included the Chief Director of the Ministry of Education, Mrs. Lydia Essuah; the Chief Technical Advisor to the Ministry of Education, Prof. George K. T. Oduro; the Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai; the Director of Legal at the Ministry of Education, Ms. Matilda Azuimah; and the Director for Corporate Affairs at GTEC, Mr. Jerry Sarfo.
Addressing the meeting, the Minister assured the Italian delegation of Government’s readiness to facilitate meaningful collaborations between Italian and Ghanaian universities.
“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,” Hon. Haruna Iddrisu stated.
The Minister emphasized that GTEC would play a central role in ensuring quality assurance and accreditation for all collaborative academic programmes arising from the engagements.
As part of Government’s broader education transformation agenda, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu disclosed that he had plans to establish a dedicated TVET Fund aimed at strengthening technical and vocational education through enhanced industry-academic collaboration.
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The Minister also outlined Government’s vision to expand foreign language education at the Senior High School level through the introduction of languages such as Italian, German, Spanish, and Chinese. According to him, the initiative is intended to equip Ghanaian students with global competencies and improve international mobility opportunities.
Professor Daniela Mapelli, on her part, underscored the University of Padua’s commitment to internationalisation and global academic partnerships. She noted that the university was particularly interested in promoting exchange programmes, especially for PhD students, and viewed Ghanaian universities as ideal partners for such collaborations.
She further revealed that the University of Padua already has an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and is seeking to expand cooperation with other Ghanaian universities, particularly institutions within the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) network hosted by the University of Ghana.
In response, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu encouraged the Italian delegation to explore partnerships with institutions such as Tamale Technical University, the University of Cape Coast, and the University of Mines and Technology, among others, depending on their institutional focus and mandates.
The Minister also advised the Italian delegation to consult the GTEC website for detailed information on Ghana’s public universities and their respective mandates, indicating that they could identify up to four institutions for strategic collaboration.
Additionally, he encouraged the Italian side to formally communicate available scholarship opportunities and eligibility requirements to facilitate broader participation by Ghanaian students and researchers.
The meeting also highlighted plans for an official visit to Ghana by Italy’s Minister for Education on 3rd August 2026, during which further discussions are expected to be held on educational cooperation and strategic partnerships between the two countries.
The engagement reaffirmed the growing educational ties between Ghana and Italy and demonstrated the shared commitment of both countries to advancing research, innovation, skills development, and international academic exchange for mutual benefit.
