The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has, in a new directive, cautioned the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah, against presenting herself as a professor.
According to GTEC, the commission insists that the minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Essikado-Ketan, is not a professor, despite her claim that she was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Surgery by the University of Utah in the United States, citinewsroom.com reports.
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In a letter addressed to the Chief of Staff at the Presidency, GTEC reportedly stated that, as part of its efforts to verify the claim, it requested Dr Ayensu-Danquah to provide documents to support her professorship title by August 11, 2025.
The documents she submitted, GTEC added, showed some inconsistencies.
A letter from the University of Utah, signed by Prof W Bradford Rockwell, Vice Chair for Academic Affairs in the Department of Surgery, confirmed that Dr Ayensu-Danquah was appointed as an Adjunct Assistant Professor, not Assistant Professor as claimed by her solicitors.
However, GTEC argues that Dr Ayensu-Danquah’s omission of the term “adjunct” from her professorship title has the potential to mislead the public.
It explained that the role of Adjunct Assistant Professor is a non-tenure track position which, under Ghana’s academic framework, equates roughly to a part-time lecturer — not a senior lecturer, and certainly not a professor.
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“Based on the above, the Commission concludes that Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah does not hold the title of Professor in any capacity,” the letter is quoted as saying by citinewsroom.com.
The commission has, therefore, cautioned her against using the title of professor, warning that failure to comply will leave them with no choice but to pursue legal action on the grounds of public deception.
MAG/AE
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