The Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, Professor Ahmed Jinapor, has reported a noticeable decline in the pursuit of honorary doctorate titles, linking the trend to recent efforts to curb their misuse.

Speaking before Parliament’s Assurances Committee on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, Professor Jinapor said stricter oversight is discouraging individuals from seeking honorary degrees without earning them through academic work.

“You will attest to the fact that based on this exercise that we undertook, the data shows that people are no longer going in for honorary doctorates,” he said.

According to GTEC, fewer institutions are conferring such titles. So far this year, only one public university, the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), has awarded an honorary doctorate, given to businessman Ibrahim Mahama.

“In fact, this year we are doing scientific research to determine the institutions that are giving honorary doctorates. Only one public institution has given an honorary doctorate, which is UMaT to Ibrahim Mahama,” he added.

Professor Jinapor noted that in previous years, many institutions freely awarded honorary degrees, but tighter regulations and public awareness have now reduced interest.

“In the past, almost every institution was giving honorary doctorates, but now people are not interested because they cannot use them,” he explained.

The GTEC chief emphasized that the crackdown aims to uphold the integrity of academic credentials and prevent abuse by individuals who have not undertaken the necessary research or publications.