Ghana’s tertiary education regulator has reiterated that qualifications from the Swiss Management Centre (SMC) University are not recognised for academic promotion or faculty appointments in the country.
In a letter dated 4 November 2025 and addressed to the Acting Vice-Chancellor of Accra Technical University (ATU), the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) directed the institution to reverse the promotion of a senior staff member who had used a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree from SMC to attain the rank of Associate Professor.
According to the Commission, SMC received a Certificate of Recognition in 2012 from the former National Accreditation Board (NAB), but this did not amount to full accreditation. “A Certificate of Recognition does not constitute a Certificate of Accreditation. This document merely serves as a preparatory certificate… towards obtaining full institutional accreditation,” GTEC stated.
The regulator said SMC never obtained institutional accreditation in either Ghana or Switzerland. It added that the school’s programmes, including the DBA, “have never received Programme Accreditation, which is a mandatory requirement for the delivery of such programmes.”
GTEC explained that the DBA offered by SMC is regarded as a professional qualification rather than an academic terminal degree. “Consequently, it does not qualify the holder to serve as a faculty member of a university in Ghana or to use it for purposes of academic or career progression,” the letter, signed by GTEC Director-General Professor Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, said.
The regulator has instructed ATU to revoke the academic title and “provide evidence of compliance… no later than 30th November, 2025.” It warned that failure to comply would trigger sanctions.
SMC’s recognition in Ghana was withdrawn in 2018 following what officials described as quality assurance and accreditation breaches.
The Commission has since maintained that SMC certificates are not valid for university teaching or promotion in Ghana.
