The Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Professor Ahmed Jinapor, has articulated the Commission's firm resolve to address the misuse of academic titles. This decisive action is aimed at safeguarding the sanctity of the professorial title and maintaining public trust in the nation's academic institutions.
Professor Jinapor emphasized that the inappropriate use of titles, particularly honorary doctorates, strikes at the heart of academic integrity. He stated that this intervention is fundamentally about protecting the value and prestige of the qualifications that academics have worked diligently to earn.
Addressing members of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) at their 22nd Biennial Congress in Aburi, the Director-General highlighted the necessity for a unified national approach to tertiary education. He explained that individual universities, regardless of their excellence, cannot achieve significant national impact in isolation. The core philosophy behind establishing GTEC under the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023) is to foster a collaborative national system.
"Our regulatory role is not to stifle innovation or micromanage, but to strengthen the entire sector; not to control, but to coordinate for quality, relevance and integrity," Prof. Jinapor stated. He affirmed that the Commission's recent actions are deliberate steps towards building a coherent and trustworthy tertiary education system.
Regarding the Payroll Audit and Streamlining of Office Holding Allowances, the Director-General clarified that this is not a mere accounting exercise. He described it as an essential intervention to ensure fairness, accountability, and the efficient use of public resources. By eliminating duplications and ensuring transparency in remuneration, GTEC is building a sustainable financial foundation for public universities. This process frees up resources that can be redirected to support core functions such as teaching, research, and vital infrastructure development.
Professor Jinapor also called on qualified academics to participate in the training of programme assessors. He urged every qualified academic, specifically those at the rank of Senior Lecturer and above, to avail themselves of this opportunity. "We need your expertise to shape the quality assurance process from within," he said. He further noted that this is a chance for academics to directly define and uphold excellence in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI), ensuring that academic standards remain both rigorous and relevant to national development aspirations.
The Director-General cited the recent directive to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) to hand over after attaining the compulsory retirement age as a clear demonstration of GTEC's commitment to the rule of law and institutional governance. He stressed that upholding these statutes is not punitive, but is fundamental to preserving fairness, stability, and the long-term health of academic institutions.
"These measures are the necessary groundwork - the solid, transparent and credible foundation upon which we can build our pedagogical future," Prof. Jinapor stated.
Concluding his address, the Director-General underscored that ethics in the age of AI are non-negotiable. He asserted that as AI is integrated into pedagogy, it is crucial to instil in students a deep understanding of its ethical implications. "We must produce graduates who not only can code and develop algorithms, but who also comprehend the profound moral weight of their creations - who can question data privacy, mitigate algorithmic bias and ensure that technology serves humanity, not the other way around," he said.