Mr Kwame Darteh, Executive secretary of the National Accreditation Board (NAB), has cautioned private universities against engaging in practices that would result in a rejection or a withdrawal of their accreditation. This follows reports that an unnamed private university in Ghana had been admitting students who did not meet the admission requirements and had employed lecturers that were not fully qualified to teach their respective subjects. Speaking Citi FM Monday, Mr Darteh said the National Accreditation Board has very qualified officials who paid visits to the various institutions on short notice in order to assess their activities. Mr. Darteh also addressed fees charged by some private universities which some people felt were rather exorbitant, but said the board has no hand in the fixing of fees charged. He said that before a university is accredited, it must have at least three faculties, with each faculty running at least three programs. He also stated that it takes a minimum of 10 years for an institution to be granted an autonomous status to issue its own certificate, and even after this period, he said it was not guaranteed. Mr. Darteh warned that setting up a university without accreditation is illegal and criminal. story by Mimi Ansaa Koranteng/myjoyonline