Haruna Iddrisu is the Minister of Education
Pressure is growing on the Minister of Education to launch an independent investigation into the promotion of the Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Professor Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, following renewed questions about transparency and fairness in the process.
In a press statement signed by Emmanuel Akanpaadgi, a lecturer at Bolgatanga Technical University on behalf of the Concerned Lecturers at Public Universities on November 16, 2025, raised the concern about what they describe as “inconsistencies in information provided by the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), regarding Prof Jinapor’s initial denied promotion, subsequent appeal and eventual approval.”
The matter resurfaced after the release of documents through a Right to Information (RTI) request, which revealed details about the academic assessment process that first led to the denial of the GTEC boss’s promotion.
UEW later issued revised information to clarify aspects of the initial release, but the revisions have sparked public calls for further clarification.
According to the statement, “the evolving disclosures have raised three key questions:
“The independence of university decision-making, given Prof. Jinapor’s regulatory authority over tertiary institutions as GTEC Director-General.
“The transparency and consistency of UEW’s promotion procedures, including the number of assessors and the criteria used.
“The adequacy of quality-assurance checks to ensure that publications submitted for promotion met the required academic standards.”
Stakeholders argue that the situation reflects broader systemic challenges in academic promotions at a time when GTEC itself is leading efforts to sanitise the acquisition of academic titles in Ghana.
To safeguard public confidence in the higher education system, the statement calls on the Minister of Education to “immediately constitute an independent committee to review all documents and circumstances surrounding the promotion and its subsequent reconsideration.”
The committee, they argue, should determine whether due process was followed and whether any form of influence affected the outcome.
They further urged that the findings of the probe be made public to reinforce transparency and accountability in the governance of Ghana’s tertiary education sector.
The statement concludes with an appeal to the minister to treat the matter as one of urgent national interest.
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