Perhaps the above titled heading should have been crafted to encompass Bachelors and Masters degrees.
In the past few weeks, there has not been dearth of stories about the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) stripping some persons of their right to use the ‘Dr’ title. To put it bluntly, the GTEC has descended upon fake PhD holders, and painfully many of those affected are government appointees.
Until the GTEC began to undertake this aspect of their mandate, or cleanup as it were, holders of these fake PhDs had a field day with some of them even flaunting fake double ‘Dr’ titles.
The importance of integrity, especially for those holding public office, cannot be overemphasised. Unfortunately however, we have ignored this important moral attribute which stands tall in religious circles as well as public office.
It is therefore worrying when those who claim to be adherents of these faiths are engaged in lies.
We are denying society of role models who the younger generation can look up to for inspiration through such mendacious conduct.
Those who present fake certificates to the President so they can be considered for government appointments must be sanctioned.
The President, it would appear, has decided to ignore the moral abhorrence, maintaining a ‘business as usual’ attitude to the anomaly.
We are setting a bad precedent which could worsen our already unacceptable poor moral rating.
When the case of the President’s personal physician made the headlines because she claimed to be what she was not, many Ghanaians were taken aback that the lady was able to pretend to this level.
This was followed by many more, and the anomaly stinks.
Of special significance and worry is GTEC’s query to Kwame Adom-Frimpong of the Internal Audit Agency, who has borne the title of ‘Prof’ when he is unqualified to do so, according to GTEC.
As an auditor of such standing, we expect this gentleman to exude the highest moral standard.
According to GTEC, Kwame Adom-Frimpong’s ‘Prof’ is unearned and does not align with existing academic protocol.
In a letter dated June 16, 2025, GTEC stripped the Member of Parliament (MP) for Awutu Senya East Constituency, Phillis Naa Koryoo Okunor of her ‘Dr’ title, pointing out that her continued use of the title is a breach and should cease forthwith.
An MP? In some jurisdictions she would have resigned from the House.
Another high profile fake PhD case is that of ‘Dr’ Sofo Rashid Tanko-Computer, Ag Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC).
He too has been ordered to cease using the title ‘Dr’ because he has not earned it as per the standard academic protocol.
Information has it that persistent demand for proof of the PhD at GIFEC attracted his angst.
Those at the forefront of the query were hounded out in the putsch he embarked upon. Unfortunately, the GTEC, the agency responsible for weeding society of such fake academic qualifications has spoken.
It would be laborious, but we think that a total auditing of the qualifications presented for political appointments be undertaken.
Ghana has an enviable position in the global academic community and we should not allow persons with little or no moral credibility to rob us of this attribute.