Accra: The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has issued a strong warning against the growing misuse of honorary academic titles in the country, describing it as misleading and unlawful under the Education Regulatory Bodies Act 2020 (Act 1023). Professor Ahmed Abdulai Jinapor, the Director-General of the Commission, said individuals who publicly use titles such as 'Dr.' or 'Professor' based solely on honorary awards were in violation of Ghana's education regulatory laws and risk facing prosecution.
According to Ghana News Agency, only accredited and chartered institutions have the right to confer honorary degrees, and even then, recipients are not permitted to adopt those titles as if they were academic qualifications. Professor Jinapor, speaking at a press briefing in Accra, cited Section Act 1023, explaining that GTEC had the legal mandate to regulate the use of higher education nomenclature and titles, including 'Dr.,' 'professor,' and 'chartered.' The misuse of such titles could attract fines of up to 250 penalty units, imprisonment for up to a year, or both.
In recent months, GTEC has begun a public awareness campaign to name and shame individuals using honorary titles fraudulently. Professor Jinapor stated that individuals with such titles were contacted and asked to provide evidence of academic qualifications, and that failure to do so may lead to legal action. He noted that several individuals, particularly politicians, religious leaders, herbalists, and entrepreneurs, continue to use the title 'Dr.' on the basis of honorary doctorate awards in defiance of established guidelines.
Professor Jinapor highlighted that the misuse of such titles risked misleading the public, especially when honorary recipients were mistaken for medical doctors, academic scholars, or researchers. He described the trend as 'a threat to academic credibility' and emphasized that GTEC did not recognize titles such as 'honorary professor' or 'honorary doctor' in official contexts. GTEC wants to emphasize that individuals cannot use the title 'Hon. Dr.,' 'Hon. Prof.,' or 'Prof. Hon.'
He raised concerns about institutions lacking the legal mandate to confer degrees but still awarding honorary titles, stressing that only accredited and chartered institutions may confer honorary degrees. He mentioned that some institutions issuing honorary titles do not even have the right to issue certificates. GTEC stressed that honorary titles should be treated as symbolic and not used in professional or academic contexts.
The commission intends to escalate its enforcement measures in stages, starting with public education, followed by engagement, then legal action against recalcitrant offenders. Professor Jinapor stated that they are not just doing this for optics and warned that if naming and shaming doesn't work, they will prosecute to serve as a deterrent. He also urged the media to thoroughly investigate any individual using titles before their names were published.
