Fake PhDs and the People Who Should Know Better: An editorial on academic dishonesty, greed, and Ghana's growing title obsession

An academic certificate that commands perhaps the most respect across the world is the Doctor of Philosophy. People bow at the title. Institutions open their gates. Societies extend a certain deference that no other qualification quite produces. And it is not misplaced. Attaining a PhD is not a child's play. It requires rigorous academic research, unwavering dedication and real sacrifice. Many start the journey and quietly abandon it when the weight of the demand becomes too much. A PhD, at its core, is the highest academic degree in the world, and its entire purpose is the creation of new knowledge through original, extensive research.

But here is where many people go wrong, either genuinely or deliberately.

A PhD is not the same thing as a Professional Doctorate. A Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) or a Doctor of Education (EdD) is a professional doctorate degree. That distinction matters. While a PhD focuses on establishing new knowledge and propounding new theories, a Professional Doctorate focuses on applying existing knowledge to solve practical problems. The two are built on entirely different foundations and exist for entirely different purposes. So when someone who holds a DBA or EdD begins attaching the PhD initials to their name, it is not a minor clerical error. It is academic dishonesty. It is a wilful act to deceive the public.

And people do it. More than they should.

The deeper problem, the one that truly explains the scale of what is happening, is this: because of the prestige and public reverence accorded to those who hold PhDs, an entire industry of dubious universities has sprung up to satisfy the appetite of people who want the degree without doing the work. A typical PhD program that should take at least four years can now be dubiously acquired in a year or slightly more from unaccredited and in many cases nonexistent institutions. Some of these so-called universities exist only as a website and a foreign bank account.

In Ghana, a disturbing number of people, many of them in high positions with great reputations in society, have become victims of fake PhDs. These are not naive people. These are educated, intelligent members of society who should know better. But greed has a way of blinding even the sharpest minds. The desire to position oneself as something one is not, to claim authority one has not earned, has pushed them into the arms of fraudsters running operations dressed up as universities.

The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), whose key responsibilities include the accreditation and quality assurance of tertiary education in Ghana, has on countless occasions flagged unaccredited institutions and publicly questioned the PhD certificates of high profile individuals, including lecturers and politicians. And yet people keep going in for the fake degrees. They use the titles publicly, without fear, without shame. What raises genuine curiosity is whether this is ignorance or greed. But when you examine the calibre of people involved, you cannot call it ignorance. These are people who know exactly what they are doing. It is greed. It is the desperate desire to maintain a status they have not legitimately earned. And what makes it more disturbing is that most of these universities are located outside Ghana, which gives the whole thing an air of international legitimacy that is entirely manufactured.

How It Works
Here is the part that should embarrass the people involved even further. Most of those holding fake PhDs never even took the step to apply for one. The dummy universities contact them first. Through unsolicited emails. Persuasive messages offering the programme at heavily discounted prices. The process that follows is almost comical in its simplicity. Answer a few questions. Produce a so-called research paper that is never published anywhere. Wait a few months. Receive a certificate. The wealthier ones actually travel abroad to collect their fake credentials at staged graduation ceremonies and return home with photographs as evidence.

Then they add the title to everything.
GTEC has published names of unaccredited and unrecognised institutions on multiple occasions. It has directly cautioned people to desist from illegally using the title Dr. The warnings have fallen on deaf ears. Separately, there are mushroom Bible schools and religious institutions conferring honorary doctorate degrees, known formally as honoris causa, on all manner of individuals. The rule is clear. Beneficiaries of honorary doctorates are not permitted to add the title Dr. to their names. But the opposite is what is happening. People are collecting honorary titles from unrecognised church universities and parading them as though they represent years of research and scholarship.

That is the state of things in Ghana right now. We have become a country obsessed with titles. A country where the appearance of achievement has become more valuable than achievement itself. Everyone wants to prove that they have arrived. And in the absence of the genuine article, many are willing to buy a convincing imitation.

On April 17, GTEC released a list of 62 unrecognised universities currently awarding fake degrees. They are listed below.

The 62 Unrecognised Universities (GTEC, April 2026)

1. Universidad Azteca Mexico
2. Indian School of Management and Studies, India

3. Breyer State Theology University, USA

4. Debest College of Science, Arts and Business, Ghana

5. Osiri University, USA
6. Atlantic International University, USA

7. Faith University Seminary (FUS), Ghana

8. Christian University College Monrovia, Liberia

9. Rhema Bible Training College (RBTC), USA

10. Universidad Empresarial de Costa Rica, Costa Rica

11. Selinus University of Sciences and Literature, Italy

12. Crown University International Chartered, USA

13. Monarch Business School, Switzerland

14. City University, Cambodia
15. Kesmond International University, USA

16. Washington University of Barbados, Barbados

17. London Academy of Technology and Management, UK

18. IICSE University, USA
19. Doxa Open University, Ghana
20. Branae University, USA
21. University of Haana, Germany
22. Christian Leadership University, USA

23. International Institute of Church Management Inc, USA

24. Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Training School, Ghana

25. Louisiana Baptist University and Seminary, USA

26. Tech Global University, Andorra

27. International Christian University, Nigeria

28. LIGS University, Hawaii, USA
29. Swiss Management Centre University, Switzerland

30. Quest International University, Ghana

31. Isles International University, Ireland

32. Kingsnow University, USA
33. New Life Bible College and Seminary, USA

34. East Bridge University, France

35. Texila American University, Guyana

36. Vision International University, USA

37. Keisie International University, USA

38. Dublin Metropolitan University, UK/Cyprus

39. Logos University, USA
40. University of America, USA
41. Kazian School of Management, India

42. University of Northwest, USA
43. Akamai University, Hawaii, USA

44. Trinity Graduate School of Apologetics and Theology (TGSAT), India

45. American Bible University, USA

46. California Creek University, USA

47. Delta International University, USA

48. National Institute of Business Management (NIBM), India

49. Southern California International University, USA

50. CASS European Institute of Management Studies, France

51. Quetzalcoatl University of Veracruz, Mexico

52. Swiss International Management Academy, Switzerland

53. IIBM Institute of Management, India

54. Dunster Business School, Switzerland

55. World Academy for Research and Development (WARD), UK

56. American Management University, USA

57. All Nations Church International University, Texas

58. Freedom University and Theological Seminary, USA

59. Global Theological University, USA

60. Jorasome International University, Zambia

61. Kingdom Living Bible Institute, Kumasi, Ghana

62. Global Professional College, Effiduase, Ghana

About the Author
Alpha Osei Amoako is an educator, school administrator and education columnist based in Accra, Ghana. He writes regularly on education, society and public affairs for modernghana.com, one of Ghana's leading online platforms for commentary and analysis. He also engages a wide Ghanaian audience through social commentary on Facebook, where he addresses issues at the intersection of education, culture and national development.

Email: [email protected]