{"id":46860,"date":"2025-10-10T12:10:46","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T12:10:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/?p=46860"},"modified":"2025-10-10T12:10:48","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T12:10:48","slug":"gtec-rules-ken-ashigbeys-doctorate-invalid-orders-him-to-drop-dr-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/2025\/10\/10\/gtec-rules-ken-ashigbeys-doctorate-invalid-orders-him-to-drop-dr-title\/","title":{"rendered":"GTEC Rules Ken Ashigbey\u2019s Doctorate Invalid, Orders Him to Drop \u201cDr.\u201d Title"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has declared that the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree claimed by Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, is invalid. The Commission has directed him to immediately cease using the title \u201cDr.\u201d in all official and professional contexts.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What GTEC Found: Inconsistencies &amp; Concerns<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A GTEC statement, signed by its Director-General Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, outlines the basis for its decision:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>When asked for verification, Mr. Ashigbey submitted both a certificate and an academic transcript. \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The certificate is from \u201cSwiss Management Centre (SMC),\u201d while the transcript bears the name \u201cSwiss Management Centre (SMC) University.\u201d \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>GTEC noted that the institution\u2019s official website currently lists it as \u201cSwiss Management Centre,\u201d without a \u201cUniversity\u201d suffix, raising doubts about whether the transcript name is legitimate. \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Another red flag: the program duration appears unusually long. The transcript indicates that Mr. Ashigbey enrolled on 10 February 2010 and graduated on 30 December 2019 \u2014 nearly nine years in total \u2014 which GTEC describes as atypical for a professional doctoral program. \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On those grounds, GTEC invoked Section 7(i) of the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023), which empowers the Commission to authenticate and evaluate both local and foreign qualifications, to deem the DBA certificate invalid.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Order: Stop Using \u201cDr.\u201d Immediately<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In its directive, GTEC orders Mr. Ashigbey to provide verifiable evidence that he has removed the \u201cDr.\u201d title from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>All official documents<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Institutional profiles<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Websites and digital platforms<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Letterheads and other professional materials \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the full evaluation of the case is ongoing, the Commission said its decision is an effort to preserve academic integrity and ensure that only legitimate qualifications are given recognition in Ghana.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Response &amp; Repercussions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the time of writing, there is no publicly documented response from Mr. Ashigbey or his legal representatives. It remains unclear whether he plans to challenge the decision or provide additional evidence to support his qualification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If Mr. Ashigbey fails to comply \u2014 by continuing to use the \u201cDr.\u201d title or refusing to demonstrate its removal \u2014 it is possible that further disciplinary or legal steps could be initiated under Ghanaian regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Context &amp; Significance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This development is notable for several reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Academic credential scrutiny in Ghana. In recent years, Ghanaian educational authorities and institutions have increasingly come under pressure to verify academic credentials, combat \u201chonorary doctorates\u201d or questionable foreign degrees, and protect the value of legitimate qualifications.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Public trust &amp; professional standing. As CEO of a major industry body, Mr. Ashigbey occupies a high-visibility position. Questions about his academic credentials may affect professional credibility, especially in sectors like mining and government relations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Precedent. GTEC\u2019s unapologetic move to invalidate a doctorate claimed by a public figure sends a strong message about institutional accountability. It may influence how other credential disputes are handled in the future.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What Remains Unclear<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Whether Mr. Ashigbey will submit supplementary documentation or appeal the decision<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Whether GTEC\u2019s further investigation will uncover additional irregularities<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How this will affect Mr. Ashigbey\u2019s standing, contractual obligations, or appointments (if the \u201cDr.\u201d title is stipulated in any formal agreements)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">www.nsemgh.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has declared that the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree claimed by Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, is invalid. The Commission has directed him to immediately cease using the title \u201cDr.\u201d in all official and professional contexts.&nbsp; What GTEC Found: Inconsistencies &amp; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":46861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_source_name":"","_post_source_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[43,1],"tags":[9306,7960,10787,1350,8982,11538,10537,12866,423,9127,3577,192,11850,4521,2264,12163,10197,7795,7968,67,1137,10722,8840,9713,214],"class_list":["post-46860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-appeal","tag-case","tag-certificate","tag-ceo","tag-combat","tag-digital","tag-doctor","tag-documentation","tag-education","tag-february","tag-future","tag-ghana","tag-ghana-tertiary-education-commission-gtec","tag-ghanaian","tag-government","tag-gtec","tag-investigation","tag-mining","tag-nine","tag-nsemgh","tag-nsemgh-com","tag-removed","tag-strong","tag-swiss","tag-university"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46860"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46862,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46860\/revisions\/46862"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}