In 2017, BPI launched its Research Report on a study conducted among five main public universities in Ghana on “The State of Gender Parity, Underprivileged and Minority Enrolments in Public Universities in Ghana. After the launch, BPI submitted a copy of the final research report to the NCTE. From its key findings, BPI observed that there was no coherent unified national policy on university admissions for less-endowed students and generally for people coming from deprived backgrounds and less-privileged communities. It noticed the absence of a comprehensive policy framework that ensured equitable university opportunities for all.

BPI therefore emphasized in its research recommendations the need for authorities responsible for university education in Ghana to as a matter of urgency initiate the process of putting in place a binding unified and coherent national policy that ensures equitable admission process for the vulnerable and underprivileged in society. It further recommended to the NCTE specifically, to make binding the 50-50 admission protocol on gender parity in public universities and also spearhead the formulation of a coherent national gender policy on admissions for the use of all public universities in the country. In the view of BPI, this would most likely address the disparity of policies on gender that exist at individual public universities in Ghana.

BPI further recommended that, in order to promote social inclusion and national cohesion, the issue of the inclusion of minority interest in the overall educational policy of the country should also be taken seriously by government and state institutions mandated to ensure educational equity and accessibility.

In pursuance, BPI was very delighted when the government through the NCTE in its newly proposed Tertiary Education Policy (later became the Public Universities Bill to be passed in Parliament) adopted the major recommendations highlighted in the BPI Research Report as stated above. The proposed education reform has under its “Other Criteria section, the following provisions:

• Taking affirmative action for disadvantaged groups and persons with disabilities
• Proposed quota (five percent) for needy and underprivileged students including, but not limited to persons with disabilities and other underrepresented groups who demonstrated capacity for advanced learning to ensure the representation of all classes of society in tertiary education.

BPI considers this recognition as an endorsement of what we do and aspire for; a fair and equitable national development as enshrined in our vision statement.