BY Grace Zigah
Professor Joshua Alabi, former Rector of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), has mounted a spirited defence of academic staff who acquired their doctoral degrees from Swiss Management Center (SMC) University, insisting that their qualifications were duly scrutinized, vetted, and approved by appropriate regulatory bodies long before the current posture of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC).
His comments come on the heels of a firm public notice issued by GTEC cautioning Ghanaians against the use of honorary academic titles, warning that individuals who unlawfully parade titles such as “Dr.” or “Professor” derived solely from honorary awards risk prosecution under the Education Regulatory Bodies Act 2020 (Act 1023).
But for Prof. Alabi, the concern goes beyond honorary awards. He believes GTEC’s recent actions and public statements risk delegitimizing hardworking academics who earned their qualifications through rigorous study—many of whom passed through SMC University at a time when their own accreditation authority had approved the programme.
A Decade-Old Struggle To Build Academic Capacity
Recounting the early days of his administration at UPSA, Prof. Alabi described an institution struggling to meet the faculty qualification standards demanded of a modern university.
“When I took over, only one lecturer had a doctorate degree,” he recalled. “Recruitment was frozen. I had to develop my academic staff.”
Faced with this institutional crisis, he personally visited the then National Accreditation Board (NAB), led by the late Dr Kwame Dattey, to seek guidance on how UPSA could quickly and lawfully raise the academic credentials of its teaching staff.
According to him, it was NAB—not UPSA—that recommended SMC University as a viable institution for doctoral studies. But he did not simply take the advice at face value.
“For the purpose of due diligence, I wrote officially to NAB,” he said. “They confirmed in writing that SMC was a good university.”
Still unsatisfied, Prof. Alabi wrote to the Swiss Embassy for independent verification. The embassy, he said, also responded positively. UPSA then dispatched a high-level delegation, including its Registrar, to Switzerland to inspect the institution physically.
“The due diligence was positive,” he emphasized.
Academic Rigor, Not Shortcut Degrees
Prof. Alabi strongly rejected any claims that the SMC doctoral route was an academic shortcut.
“Participants went through rigorous academic work. Many spent over five years for their doctorates,” he stated, adding that graduates from the programme now occupy key positions in Ghana’s higher education and financial governance structures.
“Today, they serve as heads of departments, vice chancellors, and even advisors to the Bank of Ghana,” he said.
He questioned why the same regulatory body that previously endorsed the certificates of these graduates now appears to cast doubt on their credibility.
“When they completed, GTEC endorsed their certificates and said they were recognized in Ghana,” he stressed. “We should not use regulatory authority to destroy people.”
A Warning Against Abuse of Power
Prof. Alabi punctuated his argument with a personal anecdote from his time as a young minister.
He recalled receiving countless Christmas hampers—until one election cycle (2000) when no clear winner emerged and the hampers stopped altogether.
“That was when I realised the hampers were for the chair, not for me,” he said.
“When we are in a position, we should be very careful the way we use power. We shouldn’t abuse it.”
For him, the current posture of GTEC risks becoming an example of such overreach.
GTEC’s Crackdown On Misuse of Honorary Titles
Meanwhile, GTEC maintains that its latest public notices form part of a broader effort to sanitize Ghana’s academic environment and curb the growing misuse of honorary titles.
At a recent media briefing, Director-General Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai reiterated that:
Honorary awards must not be used as academic titles.
Only accredited institutions may confer honorary degrees.
Unauthorised use of titles such as “Dr.” or “Professor” is a criminal offence under Act 1023.
Penalties include up to 250 penalty units, one year imprisonment, or both.
According to GTEC, the misuse of such titles misleads the public—especially when individuals parading honorary doctorates are mistaken for medical doctors, scholars, or certified professionals.
The Commission has begun naming and demanding evidence from individuals suspected of using unearned titles and warns that legal action could follow if they fail to comply.
A Brewing Controversy
While GTEC insists its campaign targets honorary degree misuse, Prof. Alabi’s intervention suggests a deeper institutional disagreement: whether GTEC’s recent posture indirectly undermines legitimately earned qualifications, particularly those from SMC University.
