By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The 2021 Auditor-General’s report has uncovered that the University of Ghana has been running 374 academic programmes which unaccredited.
Out of the 374 courses, 14 of them are Diploma programmes, 80 out of the 374 programmes are Undergraduate courses, Post-Graduate unaccredited courses are 213, and 67 are PhD courses.
According to the Auditors, “We noted that the University advertised 374 academic programmes on the various web portals that had the accreditation expired or requires re-accreditation during the period under review,” portions of the report indicated.
The running of unaccredited courses is in contrast to Section 36 of the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023) which “provides that a person who runs or advertises a tertiary education programme that is not accredited; commits an offense and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than ten thousand penalty units and not more than twenty thousand penalty units or a term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years and not more than 20 years, or to both.”
The Auditor-General recommended that the Management of the University should “expedite action for accreditation and re-accreditation of all new and expired academic programmes respectively.”
Management was also asked to “liaise with Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to take retrospective accreditations to cover all the non-accredited certificates issued to students.”
Meanwhile, the Auditor-General’s report, noted that Management has responded to its recommendation.
