Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof Ernest Aryeetey, has said, “far too many Ghanaians” are resorting to dishonest means to gain academic credentials, titles and positions in the country.

Speaking at the 70th graduation ceremony at the Trinity Theological Seminary in Accra, Prof Aryeetey said, “there are far too many Ghanaians who claim to have certificates that they don’t have.”

“There are far too many Ghanaians who have titles they have not worked for.

“There are far too many Ghanaians who use fake ways and practices to acquire their position,” he complained.

He said: “It is time Ghanaians ensured that everyone who leaves our Universities, Polytechnics and Seminaries are taking away certificates that they have worked for.”

“It is important that students leave Seminaries, Polytechnics and Universities knowing that cheating their way into the public space can only [lead] to their bad fate,” he said, adding: “Today at [the University of Ghana], Legon, there are 15 people, all working in the public sector, whose certificates we are investigating.”

Prof Aryeetey’s concerns come on the heels of a verification exercise done by the Ghana Education Service recently which detected that 114 Teachers were using fake certificates.

They were either using someone’s certificate or a forged one. Only 12 of the 114 did not work in the Brong Ahafo Region.

According to the acting Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the GES, Rev Jonathan Bettey, the Teachers will be dismissed.

Also in July this year, the National Accreditation Board released a list of 53 fake tertiary institutions.

In April last year, 75 students of Takoradi Polytechnic were sacked for allegedly using falsified West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) grades to gain admission to the institution. And there are a plethora of examples in the same vein. In Prof Aryeetey’s estimation, such dishonest tendencies must be discouraged in the country.