A large number of foreign institutions awarding doctorate degrees to Ghanaians are not accredited, the Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Professor Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, has disclosed, raising concerns about the legitimacy of such qualifications.

GTEC has in recent times uncovered several cases involving individuals using questionable academic titles, alongside some local universities operating without the required accreditation.

Speaking on TV3 on December 14, 2025, Professor Ahmed Jinapor explained that investigations by the Commission reveal troubling concerns about the credibility of many foreign institutions issuing these doctorate degrees.

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“Some certificates that are claimed to have been obtained from certain institutions are invalid because the basis upon which those certificates were issued is questionable. In our case, we have come to realize that a number of these institutions, which are not in Ghana, are foreign institutions without accreditation. Their operations are questionable, and in each case, we conduct serious checks and even engage the individuals,” he stated.

He added that GTEC conducts thorough checks in such cases and engages directly with the affected individuals.

Professor Ahmed Jinapor indicated that the cases made public represent only a small portion of those examined by the Commission in relation to dubious doctorate degrees.

He stressed that most people, once they understand the gravity of the situation, willingly stop using the unaccredited or honorary titles.

He also rejected suggestions that GTEC’s actions are driven by personal grudges. He explained that during engagements, many individuals admit their doctorate titles were honorary and agree to abandon their use once it is explained that regulators do not permit them and that such practices undermine the academic space.

The GTEC boss further stated that nearly all individuals publicly mentioned had prior engagements with the Commission, including meetings and written correspondence. He noted that in most cases, those who agreed to withdraw the use of their degrees far outnumber those who resisted.

He added that only a small number of individuals refuse to heed GTEC’s advice, stressing that the Commission’s actions have nothing to do with personal vendettas, as most of the people involved are not personally known to them.

“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 conversations to shelve those degrees are more than those who have not.

“It is only a few, who I am hesitant to use the word recalcitrant, who more or less refuse our advice. It is not as if it is an issue of personal vendetta. Most of these people, we don’t even know them,” he added.

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AK/BAI