Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai
Academic qualifications, especially at the post-masters level, have never been so much on the spotlight.
It all started when Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai took over the headship of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) as Director-General.
In line with the mandate of the Commission, he put some holders of certain qualifications under the microscope as it were.
It turned out that many could not defend their use of the PhDs they used for so long. They have subtly dropped the titles which they flaunted for so long with an air of hubris, especially on the political arena.
Indeed, until the GTEC crackdown, many did not know that honorary title holders can only keep these in their drawers; not to be flaunted about as many did.
The GTEC crackdown has opened our eyes and widely so.
Contained in today’s publication, there is a story about a petition questioning the man who has earned popularity and notoriety for leading the crusade against fake PhD holders; the Executive Director of GTEC whose professorship is being contested as the story suggests.
These are interesting times and the onus is on Prof. Abdulai Jinapor to prove the questioner wrong or right as the case may be.
Should the Prof. convince Ghanaians as to the appropriateness of his professorship, his integrity would be intact. In the case of the contrary, however, the negative impact would be too much for him to continue to lead the crusade against fake academic qualification holders in the country.
We doubt whether he would like to continue to hold the position should it turn out that his use of the professorship title is untenable.
He who asks for equity must come with clean hands, as the dictum goes, has come in handy under the circumstances.
The hornets’ nest has been disturbed and for us the moral lessons in these developments should not be lost, especially upon those who relish such integrity inadequacy.
While contributing to a radio discussion last Saturday, Prof. Isaac Boadi of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) made a wonderful submission when he said that the integrity of academic qualifications should be upheld. He added that it would be a step in the right direction if the integrity microscope is not restricted to PhDs only but expanded to include first and second degree holders.
We concur with his suggestion but wonder whether this herculean task can be accomplished. We are encouraged however that in a digitised world, no task is beyond accomplishment.
Be it as it may, we ask for a massive integrity auditing of such qualifications as suggested by Prof. Boadi, no matter how long it takes.
But before that step, let the outcome of the question about the professorship of Prof. Abdulai Jinapor be addressed and made public.