The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has issued a strong warning to the public, urging individuals to refrain from using honorary doctorate and professorial titles in official or public settings.
In a statement signed by the Commission’s Deputy Director-General, GTEC emphasised that the continued use of such titles is misleading and undermines the integrity of the nation’s higher education system.
“The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) would like to send its final caution to the general public to note that henceforth, citizens with honorary doctorate and professorship should cease the use of it in public,” the statement read.
The Commission reiterated its earlier directive, reminding the public that honorary academic titles should not be used as formal credentials or incorporated into professional identities. The warning was specifically addressed to politicians, business figures, religious leaders, and members of the public.
“Such practice is deceitful and unethical and also tends to dilute the integrity of the higher education system, and the value of true doctoral education and promotion of the professorial system in the universities,” the Commission noted.
GTEC also announced that it would move beyond public warnings. “The Commission would, from now onwards, in addition to naming and shaming those individuals who would be found to have flouted the GTEC directives, take legal action against them,” it warned.
The move aims to preserve the credibility of academic titles and uphold standards within Ghana’s higher education landscape.
