Professor Ahmed Abdulai Jinapor, the Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), has openly turned down a two-week deadline set by the lawyers of Deputy Minister of Health Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah concerning her use of the title ‘Professor.’
According to Prof. Jinapor, who was speaking on Joy FM’s Midday News, the lawyers’ bad advice has made the matter worse. The disagreement is based on divergent assertions regarding Dr. Ayensu-Danquah’s academic standing.
A clear “chronology of events” reveals a pattern of inconsistency from the Deputy Minister’s camp, according to Prof. Jinapor.
“The Honourable Deputy Minister of Health, an MP, said on national TV that she is a full professor from the University of Utah, Department of Surgery. That is a statement of fact,” Prof. Jinapor mentioned.
The results of GTEC, which he then presented, refute this assertion. “Her lawyers wrote to GTEC and indicated that she is an assistant professor at Utah. The University of Utah wrote to GTEC and indicated that she is an adjunct assistant professor.”
Before things got out of hand, Prof. Jinapor disclosed that GTEC had tried to work out a private solution with Dr. Ayensu-Danquah.
“When it comes to this issue, we gave the Honourable Minister the opportunity to meet the Board Chairman of GTEC at the place of her convenience and the time of her choice,” he stated.
She was supposed to be convinced to cease using the undeserved title during the meeting. Adding, “She didn’t heed to that,” Professor Jinapor said. This led him to suspect the lawyers’ recent demand for a retraction from GTEC.
The GTEC Director-General reaffirmed that maintaining academic integrity is the commission’s top priority, not pursuing any particular person.
“As a matter of fact, as we speak, she has not been able to provide us with a document that points to her appointment, whatever rank, whether a full professor, an assistant professor, or an adjunct professor,” he stated.
The “confusion continues” in the absence of an official appointment letter, he underlined.
He came to the conclusion that there is a clear distinction between the ranks, and the letter from the University of Utah validates that Dr. Ayensu-Danquah is an adjunct assistant professor, which is a position different from a tenured one.
