Ghana's Kufuor: Young People Are Better Educated Than Ever

A former president is celebrating something that might surprise you: the next generation is already better educated than his own.

John Agyekum Kufuor, who led Ghana from 2001 to 2009, told Joy News this week that today's young people have access to knowledge his generation could never imagine. Modern technology has given them an educational advantage that earlier generations simply didn't have.

"I tend to believe the current generation is far better educated than our generation," Kufuor said. He pointed to advances in science and technology that let young people access information and learn at speeds unthinkable during his early years.

But Kufuor sees a trade-off. He spent decades in law, legal practice, and city administration before becoming president. That gradual path gave him time to learn from experience in a slower-moving world.

Today's young people face a different challenge. Technologies like artificial intelligence are accelerating change so quickly that the old apprenticeship model may no longer work. They have more information but less time to absorb decades of practical wisdom.

That's where his generation comes in. Kufuor believes older leaders have a responsibility to package their hard-won lessons and pass them forward. "My generation should feel a responsibility to sort of package the experiences we had to go through to get to where we are," he explained.

The Ripple Effect

Kufuor isn't just talking about mentorship. He's building it. His foundation runs the Kufuor Scholars Programme, which supplements university education with three years of mentorship, coaching, and practical learning.

The program focuses on developing patriotic, ethical leaders who think creatively and solve problems with their communities in mind. It's designed to help young people take their superior education and combine it with the wisdom of experience.

For Kufuor, this intergenerational exchange isn't optional. He calls it central to how societies evolve and improve. Each generation builds on what came before, using new tools to reach higher than their ancestors could.

The foundation represents his vision of legacy: not just celebrating what his generation achieved, but actively helping the next generation achieve more.