The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) will begin arresting individuals who continue to use honorary professorship titles for personal gain starting this week. The Commission has stated that using such titles, which are based on honorary awards, violates the Education Regulatory Bodies Act of 2020 (Act 1023). This misuse is regarded as public deception and will be prosecuted accordingly.
For clarity, GTEC emphasized that the title “honorary professor” does not exist in Ghana’s tertiary education system. The title of Professor is reserved for academic staff who have advanced through the academic ranks. Only a university’s governing council has the authority to confer this title, whether through promotion or direct appointment, and it requires appropriate academic qualifications.
Prof. Ahmed Jinapor, the Director-General of GTEC, explained in a press briefing in Accra last Friday that anyone claiming the title of “honorary professor” is misleading the public, which constitutes fraudulent conduct. He noted that the misuse of academic titles such as “doctor,” “professor,” or “chartered” is an offense under the law, with penalties that may include fines of up to 250 penalty units, imprisonment for up to one year, or both.
Prof. Jinapor underscored that the emphasis of this initiative is to make the public aware that the leniency period has come to an end.
Mandate of GTEC
The press briefing was for GTEC to explain the rationale behind sanitising the tertiary educational space on the use of honorary doctorate and professorship. It was also to justify GTEC as the institution mandated by law to regulate the tertiary education space, including the use of academic titles. In accordance with Section 8(4)(d) of the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023), the GTEC is mandated to regulate the use of higher education nomenclature and titles, including ‘university’, ‘college’, ‘emeritus’, ‘professor’, ‘doctor’, ‘chartered’ and related terms.
Prof. Jinapor added that as stipulated in the 2020 (Act 1023), GTEC underscored that only accredited and chartered institutions might confer honorary degrees and no institution was permitted to award the title “honorary professor.” “Honorary professor titles conferred by foreign bodies without legitimate academic standing are not recognised in Ghana by the Commission.
“Misuse of academic titles-such as ‘Doctor’, ‘Professor’, ‘University’, ‘Chartered’, etc. constitutes an offence under the law,” Prof. Jinapor explained. He said the penalties for violations include fines up to 250 penalty units and imprisonment for up to one year or both. “GTEC reserves the right to investigate and sanction any individual or institution involved in the misuse or misrepresentation of academic titles,” he emphasised.
Earning PhD
Professor Jinapor, supported by the commission’s top management, including Deputy Director-General Professor Augustine Ocloo, emphasised that academic titles such as PhD, MSc, or bachelor’s degrees are earned through rigorous, structured, and supervised educational programs.
This process involves coursework, examinations, original research, thesis defense, and external review. For instance, a PhD in mechanical engineering is awarded after years of coursework, research, and a successful defence of the thesis before an academic committee. “You cannot simply decide one day to confer the title of PhD or any equivalent title upon yourself without undergoing the rigorous processes associated with academic achievement,” he insisted.
Honorary doctorate
Prof. Jinapor explained that an honorary doctorate was a symbolic recognition awarded by accredited, chartered institutions, which acknowledged societal contributions, philanthropy or leadership. He, therefore, said any individual claiming a title of honorary professor was misleading the public, and “such conduct, I must say, is fraudulent”, adding that in line with international best practices, such practices were prohibited.
“In line with international best practices, use of the title ‘Dr’ by honorary doctorate recipients; use of the title ‘Professor (Prof.)’ based on unverified ‘honorary’ awards and the adoption of the title ‘Professor’ through visiting roles, where the home or host institution has not officially conferred the rank through a documented appointment process, are prohibited,” Prof. Jinapor clarified.
The GTEC Director-General insisted that using honorary titles in a manner that mimicked academic designations, “misleads the public and undermines academic credibility”. He added that an individual who used doctor, based on an honorary award, might be mistaken for a qualified medical doctor, academic, or researcher, creating ethical and legal risk.
Prof. Jinapor made it clear that no institution in Ghana was allowed to issue honorary professorship, stressing that professorship was an earned rank. Throwing more light on the academic titles elsewhere, such as the United States, he explained that a lecturer entry point was a professor, adding, “In Ghana, you start as a lecturer, move to senior lecturer, as an associate professor, then professor.” He, therefore, called on the media, civil society, and the general public to support efforts to preserve the integrity of Ghana’s education system.
Writer’s email: severious.dery@graphic.com.gh
