Trans Africa University College Not Accredited -NAB Boss

The National Accreditation Board (NAB) has stated that Trans Africa University College, an Accra-based tertiary institution, is not accredited to operate as a degree awarding college.

The Executive Secretary of NAB, Kwame Dartey, made this known recently in an interview with DAILY GUIDE.

According to him, Trans Africa University College has been accredited by NAB to run as a tutorial college and not as a degree awarding university as it is currently doing.

'Trans Africa has not been accredited as a university college. It is a tutorial college,' he told DAILY GUIDE.

'They are not supposed to be running degree programmes. NAB has not accredited Trans Africa University College,' he insisted, stating that it is yet to be affiliated to any university as a pre-condition for accreditation.

'You cannot admit students for a programme if you have not been accredited to do so,' he said.

He indicated that 'We know that they are a tutorial college and that they are preparing students to stand for external exams.'

It would be recalled that DAILY GUIDE's investigations, a couple of weeks ago, revealed that Trans Africa University College was operating as a degree awarding institution and charging foreign students huge sums of money per academic year, whereas it was only accredited to operate as a tutorial college to prepare students for external examinations.

Confession
When DAILY GUIDE contacted the Director of Trans Africa University College, Samuel Segbefia, at the time, he flatly dismissed the claim that the school has not been accredited to run any degree programme. He also dismissed the claim that the school has not completed its affiliation process with the University of Education, Winneba (UEW).

However, Mr Dartey told DAILY GUIDE that Mr Segbefia had indeed admitted to him that Trans Africa University College was not accredited to operate as a university college.

Offence
It is a criminal offence under Article 24 of the NAB code for a learning institution to run a programme that it has not been accredited to run.

Poor Standards
According to Mr Dartey, an audit team from NAB which visited the college revealed that the school was not in the position to run degree programmes.

He stated that the physical structures of the school, among other things, were below standard and so the school couldn't be given a university college status.

The school, according to him, does not also have adequate faculty members to run as a university college.

'I have always known the school as a tutorial college,' Mr Dartey stressed.

Petition
Mr Dartey has therefore urged students of Trans Africa University College offering degree programmes to petition NAB so that it can formally take the matter up and advise whether they should be sent to other universities to continue their studies or not.

'We are here to serve the public. We serve as quality control and ready to attend to public concerns. It is our duty to do it,' he said.

But until the students heed his call and lodge a formal complaint, operators of Trans Africa University College will be enriching themselves from unsuspecting students who come into the country to acquire university degrees.

Meanwhile, Dartey advised that students should at all times verify the validity of the accreditation period of their preferred institutions before applying.

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BY Melvin Tarlue