LETTER to JOHN MAHAMA: Ghana needs CEOs like Prof Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai

What do we think about when we discuss unearned academic titles in Ghana? “They don’t put food on our table.” “It no be what we go eat.” A village cretin, they say, is an elected office, and people proudly contest for it. You must be living with the vicious Alice in the wonky wonderland to opine that scholarly works and academic titles do not put food on your table. Ghana is a thoroughfare of theatre, and the mindsets of some countrymen offer a cornucopia of amusement. If not for psychopathological cases of histrionic personality disorder and antisocial disorder, what would probably goad people to adopt academic titles they have not earned?

In the midst of the grotesque and farcical abuse of academic titles in Ghana, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, EdD, is doing a terrific job in clamping down on fake doctorates in Ghana. Some sections of Ghanaians are calling on the President of the Republic, Mr. John Dramani Mahama (JDM), to sack the hardworking GTEC boss.

Professor Jinapor is overqualified for the position of GTEC CEO. Doctor of Education is the right qualification for the purpose of educational quality assurance, regulatory, and compliance. Apart from scholar-practitioner or scientist-practitioner model PhD programs that integrate scholarship with professional practice, many research-focused only Ph D. lack professional training to handle managerial roles. The Scholar-practioner model is used in fields such as psychology, education, and health. EdD and scholar-practitioner model Ph. D.s are needed to head institutions like GTEC. The writer thinks Professor Jinapor is well-suited for his position. Calls for his dismissal are misplaced.

Professor Jinapor can manage GTEC with an MPA or MBA degree. The right thing must be done. The argument that his professorship is questionable is untenable. The writer values the post-nominal titles like PhD, EdD, DBA, DNP, and MD more than the title of professors.

Professorship is a rank based on promotion in higher education and research institutions. Not every Ph. D. holder works in higher education. Whether Professor Jinapor was promoted as an associate professor or not, he has an EdD that qualifies him as a regulator. It is wrong to assume that all professors are more learned than Doctors because not all professors have Ph.Ds.

GETEC also contributed to the proliferation of fake degrees in the country. To come out with a policy that only people with Ph. D., must teach at the universities is very over-ambitious. The USA is the biggest economy in the world. The GDP per capita of the poorest State in the United States, Mississippi, of $53,872 in 2025, is higher than that of the UK, which stood at about $48,441 in the same year. In the United States, people with master's degrees lecture at the Universities because only 1.2% of the USA population have Ph. D.s. No accredited University in the USA will award a Ph. D. with a research gap of up to 10 years old. In the UK, only 2 % of the entire population have a Ph. D.. Where was GTEC expecting the Universities to employ Ph. Ds from before coming out with such policies?

Ghana can limit the number of Universities awarding Ph. D.s. I think limiting doctoral programs to UCC, UG, KNUST, and UEW for quality assurance is not a bad idea. Also, MA and MSc with a thesis in the USA are not below the British MPhil. There is nothing wrong with a Chartered Accountant with an MBA employed to lecture at a university. Ghana is gradually gaining notoriety as the only country in the world where every postsecondary institution awards a Bachelor’s degree. The point is, who is teaching them? BSc and BAs are not basic degrees; we need a well-thought-through policy in education to curb unemployment.

Politicians in Ghana are self-contradictory and enigmatic. When it comes to the Attorney-General defending them, they will appoint a seasoned Lawyer. When it comes to the Finance Minister, they need an economist or an accountant. In the crucial sectors like education, health, energy, and foreign affairs, all that is needed is a BA in Yoruba and becoming a ranking member in the sector in parliament. We must appoint experts to work in their various sectors. Don’t tell me chief directors are in the ministries. The Ministry of Justice also has chief directors or Chief state attorneys..

Professor Jinapor, there was no need to respond to any mischievous petition by displaying your resume. GTEC is doing a great job. Mr. President, please don’t bow to any pressure to sack the GTEC Boss. God Bless Our Homeland, Ghana.

By Nana Yaw Osei, Ph.D. Minneapolis, Minnesota