At the recent UPSA congregation, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. John Kwaku Mensah Mawutor, declared that “a pass from UPSA is like a Second Class Upper from other universities.”
The remark may sound provocative, but it points to a much deeper structural problem in Ghana’s higher education system: the absence of a binding National Credit and Qualifications Framework (NCQF) to guarantee comparability and fairness across institutions.
For more than a decade, I have argued for this very point, yet it remains unaddressed.
Best practice
Globally, qualifications frameworks are the standard. The UK’s Framework for Higher Education Qualifications and South Africa’s National Qualifications Framework ensure that degree classifications are consistent and trusted across institutions. This eliminates ambiguity and builds confidence among employers, students, and international partners.
Ghana, by contrast, lacks this consistency. Universities apply different Grade Point Average (GPA) thresholds for the same classifications, employers face difficulties interpreting degree results, and Ghanaian qualifications are sometimes treated inconsistently abroad.
At home, two graduates with the same “class” of degree may be valued differently simply because they studied at different institutions.
This vacuum allows rhetorical claims such as “a pass here equals an upper second there” to flourish in the absence of a national benchmark.
Weakened credibility
The implications are serious. Universities can exaggerate their rigour, students’ achievements risk being devalued, and the credibility of our tertiary system is weakened.
Employers and international bodies cannot be fully certain of the reliability of Ghanaian degrees.
The way forward is clear: Ghana must develop and operationalise an NCQF.
The framework should harmonise GPA thresholds, set clear benchmarks for degree classifications and learning outcomes, and regularly assess institutions against shared standards.
This will protect the credibility of our higher education system and ensure that every graduate, whether from UPSA, Legon, KNUST, or Cape Coast, holds a qualification that is transparent, equitable, and globally respected.
The Vice-Chancellor’s comment should therefore be read not as bravado, but as a wake-up call.
Without a functioning NCQF, Ghana will continue to expose its graduates to unfair comparisons, leave employers uncertain about the true value of degree classifications, and weaken the country’s ability to have its qualifications recognised and respected internationally.
The writer is a former Director-General of NaCCA & Lecturer at the University of Education, Winneba.
