ACCRA, Sept 29 (The African Portal) – A senior lecturer at the University of Ghana has called for reforms in the country’s education system to better recognise students who excel in sports and practical skills, following the University for Development Studies’ (UDS) historic victory at the 2025 FISU University World Cup Football in China.
UDS defeated Brazil’s Paulista University 2–1 in Dalian on Sunday, becoming the first African university to win the global tournament.
Dr. Joshua Jeruntie Zaato, a political science lecturer, told Channel One TV on Monday that the win highlighted weaknesses in Ghana’s education policy, which he said placed disproportionate emphasis on academics.
“The policy we now have is broken, and it doesn’t seem to reward things like sports. It is still structured to focus on reading and writing, and again reward nerds and bookworms, and leave people with their skills,” he said. “It is not too late. We can change, especially now that we have a different ministry for youth development and a ministry for sports.”
Zaato urged closer collaboration between the Ministries of Education, Youth Development and Sports to create a system that nurtures talent outside the classroom.
“If we begin to reward people for their skills, then we are closing a very big gap,” he added.
The victory has reignited debate in Ghana over the need to balance academic excellence with recognition of sporting and other non-academic achievements.
