The University of Ghana has 374 academic programmes that are not certified, according to the Auditor-General’s report (2021).
Out of the 374 courses, 14 are diploma programmes, 80 are undergraduate programmes, 213 are post-graduate programmes without accreditation, and 67 are doctoral programmes.
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 offence 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.”