Is GTEC witch-hunting UCC or enforcing standards?
Recent pronouncements by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) have placed the University of Cape Coast (UCC) at the centre of public controversy.
Through a series of media statements warning students against unaccredited study centres and programmes, GTEC has sparked debate over whether it is simply enforcing academic standards or unfairly targeting one of Ghana's premier universities.
To many observers, the frequency and tone of these announcements have created the impression that UCC is being singled out for embarrassment.
This perception has generated tension within academia, raising a crucial question: Is GTEC ensuring quality education or engaging in witch-hunting?
There is no doubt that GTEC's actions fall within its legal mandate.
The Commission is charged with ensuring that all tertiary institutions in Ghana operate accredited programmes that meet national standards.
Where institutions fall short, GTEC must act to protect students and safeguard the credibility of higher education.
However, the manner and medium of enforcement matter greatly.
When lists of “unaccredited centres and programmes” are published repeatedly and the UCC becomes the headline, the public easily interprets this as punitive rather than corrective.
Even though other public universities in Ghana have been cited in some similar GTEC reports in the past, their names rarely dominate.
The uneven visibility feeds a perception of selective enforcement or worse, institutional bias.
The truth is partly structural. The UCC operates the largest distance education and affiliate network in Ghana, spanning nearly every region.
On regular and sandwich modes, the UCC programmes outweigh other universities in Ghana.
With such scale, even minor administrative delays in accreditation renewals can involve dozens of study centres and programmes.
Thus, when GTEC audits nationwide programmes, the UCC’s presence naturally looms larger.
Still, repeated public naming without balanced communication easily morphs into reputational damage — particularly for a university that has built decades of credibility and global recognition.
Regulation should build confidence, not fear.
The choice of words, such as “unaccredited”, “illegal” or “unapproved”, while technically accurate, tends to alarm the public and discourage students, especially when used without adequate context or explanation.
A more collaborative communication model could involve joint press releases by GTEC and affected universities, clarification on whether centres and programmes are completely unaccredited or awaiting renewal, and clear timelines for compliance and student guidance.
It is important to remind the public that the UCC remains Ghana’s top-ranked university and first in West Africa, according to the Times Higher Education 2024 Rankings and would probably top again in 2025.
Its contribution to teacher education, public administration and research excellence is unmatched in the sub-region.
Rather than weakening this achievement through sensational regulatory communication, Ghana’s tertiary system should leverage the UCC’s experience to strengthen quality across other institutions.
Both GTEC and the UCC serve a common purpose by protecting the credibility of higher education.
While GTEC must continue enforcing standards firmly, fairly and consistently across all universities, the UCC, on the other hand, must tighten internal quality controls, renew all pending accreditations and ensure proactive dialogue with the regulator.
True quality assurance works best when the regulator and the regulated act as partners, not opponents.
Whether GTEC’s actions constitute witch-hunting or enforcement ultimately depends on perception.
Yet, what is beyond dispute is that the tone of regulation must reflect the spirit of education; that is, one that guides, corrects and supports continuous improvement.
Public institutions such as the UCC are national assets.
Protecting their integrity while upholding standards is not a contradiction; it is a shared responsibility.
Dr Edmond Yeboah Nyamah
E-mail: eddynaa@yahoo.com
