An Accounting Professor at the University of Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, Professor Joseph Kwasi Agyemang, has endorsed the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission’s (GTEC) exercise to crack down on the misuse and proliferation of fake academic titles.
Prof. Agyemang, also an Accounting Professor at the University of South Africa with decades of experience, described the ongoing exercise as “long overdue” and “necessary” to restore integrity in the country’s higher education system.
Eroded public trust
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Prof. Agyemang said the abuse of doctoral and professorial titles had eroded public trust in academia and weakened institutional credibility.
“You cannot sit in your house, your office, or your church and award yourself the title ‘Doctor’ or ‘Professor’. These titles must be earned through a recognised and regulated process,” he emphasised.
Prof. Agyemang said the GTEC intervention mattered because it was mandated under the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023), empowered to regulate academic titles and qualifications in the country.
Although he believes the commission had delayed its intervention for far too long, he commended its current leadership for taking decisive action to sanitise the system.
Prof. Agyemang explained that the country’s system largely followed the traditional British academic structure, progressing from Assistant Lecturer to Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, and finally full Professor.
Advancement, he explained, required a terminal PhD, substantial research output, teaching experience, and independent assessment through a formal dossier.
“If you have not applied, submitted a dossier, and been assessed and appointed, then the title is not earned,” he said.
On honorary or non-earned titles, Prof. Agyemang said while such titles may be permissible in certain countries or within specific institutions, Ghana did not recognise their public use unless they had gone through the formal appointment process.
“In Ghana, if a title is not earned, you are not supposed to use it publicly. That is the law, and GTEC is right to enforce it,” he explained.
Beyond individual offenders, Prof. Agyemang blamed universities, questioning the recruitment and promotion processes that allow questionable qualifications to pass unchecked.
“On what basis were these people employed? Did the universities verify their PhDs with GTEC? If background checks had been properly done, many of these issues would not exist today,” he questioned.
Prof. Agyemang warned that the problem was compounded by the legacy of the former National Accreditation Board (NAB), whose decisions were now being re-examined under GTEC, raising complex legal and financial implications, especially where individuals rose through the ranks to become professors on credentials now deemed invalid.
Recommendations
To strengthen the country’s academic integrity, he proposed several key policy recommendations such as political independence, urging that the GTEC be allowed to operate strictly as a neutral and legally backed regulator.
Prof. Agyemang also urged the commission to engage university councils and vice-chancellors to check fake academic titles and educate the public on clear guidance on accredited institutions and acceptable titles.
He advised GTEC to avoid inconsistencies, especially where previously evaluated institutions were later blacklisted and encouraged lecturers to have visible academic footprints such as Google scholar and scopus profiles to promote accountability.
“If your PhD is fake, then any professorial rank you obtained with it is also fake and should be withdrawn.
The solution is simple: go back and pursue a legitimate PhD from an accredited institution,” Prof. Agyemang said.
He believed that the current exercise, if handled fairly and consistently, could mark a turning point.
“It is better to prevent the problem than to fight it later.
This is about protecting the future of Ghana’s higher education,” Prof. Agyemang said.
Writer’s email: biiya.ali@graphic.com.gh
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh