Chief Justice engages GTEC on misuse of academic titles and legal education reforms

On Friday, January 16, 2026, the Chief Justice of Ghana, His Lordship Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, paid a courtesy call on the Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, at the Commission’s premises in Accra.

The visit focused on two key national priorities: sanitising the public space against the misuse of unearned academic titles and advancing proposed reforms to Ghana’s legal education system currently before Parliament.

The Chief Justice commended GTEC for its firm stance on regulating the use of academic titles such as “Doctor” and “Professor,” describing the Commission’s efforts as highly commendable and critical to restoring public confidence in the tertiary education sector. He also reaffirmed the judiciary’s support for GTEC’s regulatory mandate.

Discussions further centred on a draft bill seeking to introduce a comprehensive regulatory framework for legal education and training. The Acting Director of the Ghana School of Law, Prof. Raymond Atuguba, outlined proposed reforms, including the establishment of a Council for Legal Education and Training, joint accreditation and standards-setting by GTEC and the General Legal Council, and a restructured Bachelor of Laws (LLB) programme with integrated professional training and national bar examinations.

Prof. Abdulai-Jinapor assured the Chief Justice of GTEC’s full commitment to working closely with the legal fraternity to strengthen quality assurance, accreditation, and governance in legal education, with the aim of positioning Ghana as a regional hub for professional legal training.

The Chief Justice was accompanied by senior officials from the judiciary and the legal education sector, while GTEC’s senior management team was also present, highlighting the high-level nature of the engagement and the shared commitment to national education reforms.