– as over 600 KNUST and UG programmes are unaccredited
With the Auditor-General’s report for 2021 revealing that only 61 out of the 360 programmes run by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have been accredited, while 374 of the University of Ghana (UG) were also unaccredited, the outcry of private universities that their regulator has treated them unfairly seems to have been justified.
The Association of Private Universities (APU) and Founders/Presidents of Private Tertiary Institutions in a conference last week, lamented that the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), their regulatory body, has been too strict on them in terms of programmes accreditation, among other certifications, but has been handling the public universities with kid gloves.
According to them the unfair treatment that is given to them by the regulator, formerly National Accreditation Board (NAB) now GTEC, is impacting the running of their businesses and is likely to lead to the collapse of their various institutions if nothing is done about it.
Founder/Chancellor, Wisconsin International University College, Ghana, Dr. Paul Kofi Fynn, at the conference, lamented that while the public universities are allowed to run all kinds of programmes, in recent times from pre-undergraduate to PhD levels, the private ones are restricted and even go through a highly rigorous process to get a single programme accreditation, and that even takes years of back and forth – which is hurting their business.
This factor, he said, is a major reason why only 11 percent of tertiary students are enrolled within the private sector as indicated by the GTEC’s data from the previous academic year.
The heads of private tertiary institutions, including Prof. Samuel H.B Donkor – President of All Nations University, and Rev. Prof. Kwabena Agyapong-Kodua – VC, Pentecost University, were emphatic that the earlier the regulatory body reconsiders its stands on several issues such as accreditation, affiliation and the requirement of a PhD as a prerequisite to lecture in the university, among others, the better for the sustainability of private tertiary institutions.
However, the Director for Policy Planning Monitoring and Evaluation at the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Dr. Emmanuel Newman, who was present at the conference, denied the allegations and insisted that all parties – both private and public are treated equally.
Fast forward, with the details of the Auditor-General’s report indicating that over 600 programmes run by the two leading universities were without accreditation, is a clear indication that the GTEC must reconsider its stands.
According to the report, out of the 360 programmes run by the KNUST, only 61 have been accredited, with 190 sent to the National Accreditation Board (NAB) for accreditation and reaccreditation, as well as 109 yet to be sent for accreditation; similarly, some 374 of UG progammes are unaccredited, totalling 673. This leaves many questions as to if indeed GTEC is treating both private and public equal as they bemoaned.
As it stands now, the Auditor-General has just recommended to management to cease running programmes that are not accredited or have their accredited certificates expired until they are accredited or renewed to avoid sanctions.
The GTEC, on the other hand, said engagements are in progress even before the auditor’s report was released, but how swift the GTEC responds to these infractions is the question. What would have been the reaction of the regulatory body if this disregard for the law was associated with a private university?
As the former Vice Chancellor, University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) Tarkwa, Prof. Jerry Samuel Yaw Kuma, rightly put it at the conference, it is important that the regulator listens to the private universities and create a favourable environment and fair playing ground for all stakeholders for a better educational ecosystem.
