The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has reaffirmed that the Doctor of Business Administration degrees awarded by the Swiss Management Centre (SMC) University are not recognised for academic or professional purposes in Ghana.
It also decreased the Doctor of Philosophy degree by the Universidad Central de Nicaragua (UCN) as not recognised.
In a public statement issued this week, the Commission cautioned tertiary institutions and the general public against accepting or relying on such qualifications for employment, admission, or promotion.
“The Commission wishes to inform all Heads of Tertiary Institutions that it does not recognise the following qualifications: the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) awarded by Swiss Management Centre (SMC) University and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) jointly awarded by Universidad Central de Nicaragua (UCN) and SMC University,” the statement said.
According to GTEC, this directive follows numerous enquiries from the public about the recognition status of these degrees, particularly in light of their increased circulation among professionals and academic applicants.
The Commission emphasized that any such qualifications obtained from the mentioned institutions are invalid for both academic progression and professional engagement in Ghana.
“This notice supersedes all previous communications issued by the erstwhile National Accreditation Board (NAB) and the current GTEC on this matter,” the statement added, underscoring that earlier correspondence on the issue—some of which may have been ambiguous—should now be disregarded.
The reiteration comes amid growing scrutiny over foreign-linked postgraduate degrees being offered online or through partnerships that do not meet Ghana’s accreditation standards.
GTEC has urged all educational institutions and employers to verify the status of foreign qualifications before recognising them officially.
