By Murtala Issah
The Director General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Professor Ahmed Abdulai Jinapor, has announced efforts to fast-track the accreditation process and clear up the backlog of over two hundred cases pending before the commission.
The commission has also created an online portal that will soon be piloted as part of efforts to enhance the accreditation process.
Professor Jinapor was speaking at the 24th congregation of the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale, where 4,399 students graduated with diplomas and degrees.
In October 2023, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) announced the suspension of new accreditation applications until January 2024. The announcement caused an uproar among the university community, with the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) calling for an overhaul of GTEC and describing the decision as counterproductive to tertiary education.
Speaking at the 24th congregation of the UDS in Tamale, the Director General of GTEC, Professor Ahmed Abdulai Jinapor, explained that the commission took the decision to sanitise the process and position it to work with tertiary institutions to achieve their academic targets. He announced new strategies to streamline the process and make it more efficient.
“GTEC has set up a special purpose vehicle dubbed accelerated accreditation committee. The objective of this committee is to speedily, though without compromising quality, clear the backlog of unaccredited programmes in our system. I must say, Mr. Vice Chancellor, this committee is working with supersonic speed, and we hope to have a clean slate of accreditation environments entering next year,” he disclosed.
The graduation ceremony was a joyous occasion for graduands, their families, and the University community in general. The Vice Chancellor of the UDS, Professor Seidu Al-Hassan, emphasised the university’s commitment to developing the requisite human resource needs for Ghana and the world at large.
“I am very confident that our graduates have been equipped with the knowledge and skills in their respective disciplines to lead the process of change in their communities.”
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Saani Alhassan Shaibu, who represented President Akufo-Addo, congratulated the students on their achievements and urged them to go out and contribute towards the development of the nation.
“I encourage you to spare no effort in shaping a better Ghana.”
Most of the graduating students were admitted at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of the students started their university education under unusual circumstances, with most of their lectures taking place online. Despite the challenges that confronted them, the students put in their best, producing some 161 first-class students. Some deserving students were awarded plaques, laptops, and cash amounts. The overall best student, Francis Mbawine Lambon, from the School of Engineering at the UDS Nyankpala campus, took home five other prizes on the occasion.
The University also conferred an honorary doctorate degree on the Head of the Antimicrobial Resistance Unit at Complutense University in Madrid and Adjunct Professor of Biotechnology at the University for Development Studies in Ghana, Professor Bruno Gonzalez-Zorn, in appreciation of his selfless dedication to the growth of the UDS.
