4 months ago
13 ARTICLE AD
The Deputy Minister of Education (MoE), Professor Kingsley Nyarko, has urged the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to step up efforts to regulate the use of doctoral titles in the country.
According to him the conferment of honorary doctoral degrees and unregulated use of such titles had the potential to undermine the true essence of academic pursuit in the country.
“Nobody is fighting against anyone who wants to obtain an honorary doctorate degree. It is an honour and an achievement that some of us need to add as part of our accomplishment, but we do not have to prefix our names with it. Some of us are concerned that if the practice was encouraged, it had the potential of undermining the quest for graduate studies. If I can buy a doctorate degree, why would I go to a classroom to study,” he emphasised.
The Deputy Minister made the call when he visited the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) in Accra on Tuesday as part of his familiarisation tour of selected agencies under his ministry.
His visit to GTEC was to enable him acquaint himself with their strategic plan and policies.
Prof. Nyarko expressed satisfaction with the level of collaboration between GTEC and the Commission for Technical and Vocational Educational Training (CTVET) in terms of quality education assurance in the private tertiary institutions.
He also commended GTEC for ensuring that institutions such as the Ashesi University, Pentecost University, and the Methodist University that were under mentorship, obtained Presidential Charter which made them independent educational institutions that awarded their own degree certificates.
The Deputy Minister noted that plans were in place to upgrade some of the colleges of education to university status to help diversify programmes and increase student enrolment, and also increase the gross women to men educational ratio of 40 per cent.
The Director General of GTEC, Professor Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, thanked the Deputy Minister for the support offered his outfit and assured that the GTEC would execute its mandate effectively.
He noted that GTEC was undertaking a number of initiatives including the establishment of staff offices to address the infrastructural deficit it faced and had in place policies such as the distance education policy to provide a robust regulation of distance education in tertiary institutions.
Despite the support of the government through the MoE, Prof. Abdulai said GTEC faced financial difficulties and appealed to the Deputy Minister for support.
BY PRECIOUS NYARKO BOAKYE
