The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has organised a two-day Summer School and Meritorious Award 2026 on the theme ‘Quality Assurance in Higher Education: Leveraging Technology to Safeguard Education Quality Amid Rising Student Enrolment’. The conference was held at the Great Hall of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) on the 9th and 10th of July, 2026.
The Summer School is an annual conference, which began in 2024, organised by GTEC, that brings together leadership of tertiary education institutions to dialogue on issues bothering on tertiary education delivery in the country. This year, which marks the 3rd edition of the event featured a special maiden meritorious award to honour excellence in leadership and innovation within the tertiary education architecture.
The Director-General of GTEC, Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, in his opening remarks revealed that the objective of this year’s conference is to critically examine how technology can be intentionally deployed to strengthen quality assurance rather than weaken it. He raised concerns about the setting up of unapproved study centres by some tertiary education institutions stating that the Commission has shut down such centres and has placed a temporary freeze on the accreditation of new distance learning centers.
The former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan and Key Note Speaker, Professor Abel Idowu Olayinka, gave a talk on how access to education without quality can lead to graduate unemployment and that, quality must never become the price we pay for expansion. He also added that Quality Assurance in the age of Artificial Intelligence is no longer simply about verifying compliance with standards but about harnessing intelligent technologies to continuously improve teaching, learning, assessment, research, governance and institutional performance in ways that enhance student success and societal impact.
The Municipal Chief Executive of Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly, Hon. Ben Abdallah Alhassan, who represented the Honourable Minister for Education, indicated that rapid development in student’s enrollment into the tertiary education institutions in Ghana reflects the confidence that young people in the country have in higher education as a pathway for opportunities, innovations, national development and social capability. He added that our universities must recount centers for excellence that nurture innovation, entrepreneurship and practical problem solving. He further stated that Quality Assurance is a shared responsibility therefore government, GTEC and all other stakeholders must work together to cultivate the culture of excellence accountability, innovation and continuous improvement.
Speakers at the event were Professor Godson A. Tetteh, Adjunct. Assoc. Prof. of Quality Management and Educational Leadership, GIMPA, Engr. Prof. Amevi Acakpovi, Vice Chancellor, Accra Technical University, Prof. Gordon Kwesi Adomdza, Executive Director, CEIBS Africa, Dr. Mrs. Benedicta Awusi Atiku, Principal, Dambai College of Education, Dr. Jonas Abekah Baah, Principal, NMTC, Odumase Krobo, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, Former Minister of Energy and former MP, Pru, Prof. John Kwaku Mensah Mawutor, Vice Chancellor, UPSA.
Others present included Deputy Director-General of GTEC, Prof. Augustine Ocloo, Director for Tertiary at the Ministry of Education, Dr. Emmanuel Newman, Former Deputy Director-General of GTEC, Prof. Francis K. E. Nunoo and Pro-Vice Chancellor, KNUST, Prof. David Asamoah.
Prof. Mrs. Rita Akosua Dickson, the Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, received the maiden meritorious award by GTEC for her hard work in ensuring education quality. She dedicated the award to the entire KNUST community and expressed appreciation to the Director-General of GTEC and to all participants of the conference.