In response to a Right to Information (RTI) Act request on the academic credentials of Prof Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, the Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) has complied and responded with full information on when he was promoted to the rank of senior lecturer in 2014 and Associate Professor in 2017, and the publications he submitted to meet the requirements for the promotions.
An alumnus of the Swiss Management Center (SMC) University, Kwame Simpe Ofori had petitioned UEW, GTEC Governing Board, and the Minister of Education, asking for the information.
GTEC, headed by Prof Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, has been leading a campaign with other stakeholders in the tertiary educational delivery enterprise to root out unaccredited distant learning centers in Ghana and also working to enhance the credibility of legitimately earned certificates while addressing concerns related to unearned ones and fake degrees.
This campaign by GTEC to crack down on the misuse of academic titles, including a strategy to name and shame those it has contacted privately to do the right thing but has refused, has generated public discussion.
Kwame Simpe Ofori's petition on the GTEC boss' academic credentials
It is following this that Kwame Simpe Ofori, acting through the Right to Information (RTI) Act, petitioned the GTEC board, UEW, and Minister of Education, asking for full information on the academic credentials of Prof Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, the man leading the campaign.
Kwame Simpe Ofori is a product and an alumni of SMC University, one of the institutions, which GTEC has said has never received accreditation to run programmes in Ghana, but received a certificate of recognition in 2012, which was later revoked.
GTEC recently announced that all certificates from SMC are not recognised in Ghana.
Kwame Simpe Ofori was a staff at Ho Technical University and was given study leave to go study for a doctorate in China but reportedly did not return with a certificate.
When the Ho Technical University realized he was delaying completing the programme, he was reminded to report to campus and submit his certificate.
Ho Technical University subsequently reportedly invoked the vacation of the post clause and subsequently disengaged with his services as a staff.
The Auditor-General reportedly flagged his receipt of salary payments during the study leave.
He is currently an Associate Professor at the International University of Grand-Bassam in Côte d'Ivoire
UEW releases Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai's academic credentials
Providing details on the academic credentials of Prof Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai per the RTI request by Simpe Ofori, UEW, in a response letter dated November 7, 2025, and seen by Graphic Online, indicated that he was promoted to the rank of professor on April 11, 2017, and also provided details of the publications submitted for the application [see attached below].
It explained that he was first promoted from lecturer to senior lecturer on February 17, 2014, and it was approved by the University's Appointments and Promotions Board on September 8, 2016.
For the rank of Associate Professor, UEW said he was promoted on April 11, 2017, and it was approved by the University's Appointments and Promotions Board on May 5, 2022, and ratified by the University's Governing Council on September 12, 2022.
Publications
UEW also provided a list of the Publications submitted by Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai in support of his applications for promotion to Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor [Copy attached below].
Per the requirement, for promotion from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer, an applicant must submit five publications for assessment. At least one of these should be in an international publication.
Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai submitted seven publications.
For promotion from Senior Lecturer to Associate Professor, an applicant must submit seven publications since the last promotion. At least two of these should be in an international publication.
Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai submitted 11 publications.
On Kwame Simpe Ofori's request for confirmation as to whether the promotion to Associate Professor was approved while Prof Abdulai was "an active faculty member at UEW or during his secondment to the GTEC, UEW explained that:
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"Associate Professor Abdulai applied for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor on 11th April, 2017.
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"His application was sent to three External Assessors for evaluation.
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"Out of the three reports received, two were positive and one was negative.
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"The Appointments and Promotions Board considered the reports at its meeting held on 2nd May, 2019, but could not recommend his application for promotion.
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"This decision was communicated to Associate Professor Abdulai in a letter dated 10th May, 2019.
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"On 29th March, 2022, Associate Professor Abdulai appealed to the University's Appointments and Promotions Board to reconsider its earlier decision on his application.
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"At its meeting held on 13th May, 2022, the Board reversed its earlier decision and recommended his promotion to the Governing Council for ratification.
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"The Governing Council subsequently approved the recommendation of the Board, and he was accordingly promoted to the rank of Associate Professor effective 11th April, 2017.
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"Professor Abdulai's leave of absence from the University (UEW) took effect from 1st October, 2020.
UEW explained further that the official full name of the Applicant as recorded in the University's personnel and promotions records: Professor Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai was appointed with the name Ahmed Murtala Abdulai. By a letter dated 2nd March, 2017, he notified the University of a change of name to Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai. This change was duly published in the Gazette. The University subsequently amended its records to reflect the new name.
It added that "Documentary evidence of the validation and authentication of Professor Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai's foreign academic certificates (including his MA and Ed.D) by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) or its predecessor body, the National Accreditation Board (NAB), as was required prior to his initial appointment as a Lecturer and for his subsequent promotions: The University has no such documentary evidence as requested, since this was not a requirement at the time of his recruitment."
Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai was UEW UTAG Secretary in 2017
Checks by Graphic Online indicate that in 2017, when Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai applied for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor and was initially denied, he was then the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) UEW branch secretary and UTAG had declared a strike in protest against the then UEW VC, Prof. Anthony Afful-Broni, arguing that his appointment was illegitimate.
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Fresh petition to Minister of Education by Kwame Simpe Ofori
Armed with the information from UEW, the petitioner, Kwame Ofori Simpe, has sent another petition dated November 12, 2025, to the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, asking for an independent investigation into the promotion of Professor Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai by the Governing Council of UEW.
Attached below is a copy of the November 12, 2025, petition seen by Graphic Online
REQUEST FOR AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION INTO THE REVERSAL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA (UEW) GOVERNING COUNCIL'S DECISION ON THE PROMOTION OF AHMED JINAPOR ABDULAI
I respectfully submit this petition seeking your intervention to ensure transparency and accountability in the promotion processes within Ghana's public universities.
Following a formal request for information I made to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba, on October 27, 2025, I received official correspondence detailing, among other things, the promotion of Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai from senior lecturer to associate professor on 11th April 2017. The correspondence confirms that:
- An application for promotion from Senior Lecturer to Associate Professor was considered by the UEW Appointment and Promotion Board at its meeting of 2 May 2019. The Board, after review, did not recommend the promotion, and the applicant was accordingly
informed on 10 May 2019. - Subsequently, while serving as Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), he appealed this decision directly to the UEW Governing Council on 29th March 2022, a body under direct jurisdiction of GTEC and thus potentially subject to influence.
- The Council met on 13th May 2022, reconsidered the earlier decision, and reversed it, granting promotion to Associate Professor. However, the correspondence did not specify the reasons or provide documentation showing what new evidence or considerations informed this reversal.
In view of the above, I respectfully request that your Ministry:
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Constitute an independent panel to review the full circumstances surrounding the reconsideration and reversal of the UEW Governing Council's 2019 decision.
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Ascertain whether due process was followed and whether any conflicts of interest, actual or perceived, could have influenced the outcome; and
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Recommend measures to safeguard transparency and fairness i n future promotion and appeals processes across all public tertiary institutions.
I submit this request in good faith, motivated solely by the need to uphold public confidence in the governance of Ghana's higher-education institutions.
Please find attached a copy of the information I received from the registrar of the University of Education, Winneba.
Thank you for your attention and anticipated cooperation.
Yours failthfully
Kwame Simpe Ofori
Writer's email: enoch.frimpong@graphic.com.gh
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