GTEC Exposes Unaccredited Foreign Institutions Awarding Doctorates to Ghanaians
The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has revealed that a significant number of foreign institutions awarding doctorate degrees to Ghanaians are operating without accreditation. This disclosure, made by GTEC Director-General Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, raises serious questions about the validity of the certificates issued by these institutions.
According to Prof. Jinapor, the Commission’s investigations have uncovered questionable practices among several of these foreign entities. He explained that the issue primarily concerns institutions operating outside the country.
“In our case, we have come to realise that a number of these institutions happen not to be in Ghana. Most of these institutions happen to be foreign institutions; they don’t have accreditation. The operation is questionable, and in each of these, we do serious checks and even engage the individuals,” Prof. Jinapor stated.
GTEC has recently publicly identified individuals using unverified academic titles and has also cautioned some Ghanaian universities lacking proper accreditation. However, Prof. Jinapor clarified that these public cases represent only a small portion of the Commission’s overall work.
“The number of persons who have been publicly called out only represents a microcosm of the number of people we have engaged,” he said. He further noted that many individuals, once informed of the issues, voluntarily agree to discontinue using the questionable degrees.
“To be honest with you, most of the people that we engage, when they understand and appreciate the dynamics of where they find themselves, they just say, ‘we are not interested.’ Some say they were given an honorary doctorate with the intention that they could use it, but if the regulator says they cannot use it and it dilutes the environment, they are ready to let it go,” Prof. Jinapor added.
The Director-General firmly dismissed suggestions that GTEC’s actions are motivated by personal grievances. “I can say for a fact that 99% of all the individuals who have come into the public domain, we have had some form of engagement with them. Private conversations, written letters, and in most instances, those who have agreed based on our conversation to shelve those degrees are more than those who have not,” he explained.
He conceded that a small number of individuals have resisted the Commission’s advice, but emphasized that these cases are rare. “It is only a few – I am hesitant to use the word ‘recalcitrant’ – who more or less refuse our advice. It is not an issue of personal vendetta. Most of these people, we don’t even know them,” Prof. Jinapor stated.
Prof. Jinapor also indicated that public response has been largely supportive of GTEC’s efforts to improve the integrity of the nation’s tertiary education system.
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