Private legal practitioner and rights activist, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, has criticised the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), accusing it of overstepping its mandate in a recent controversy over the use of the title Professor.

In a post shared on Facebook on Sunday, August 17, Barker-Vormawor described GTEC’s conduct as “deeply problematic”, arguing that the Commission was undermining its own credibility by attempting to regulate who may legitimately use the title.

According to him, GTEC’s responsibilities under the Education Regulatory Bodies Act are clear: to regulate tertiary institutions, monitor academic standards, and verify certificates and degrees upon request.

“Nowhere does the law empower it to sit in judgment on professorial titles, especially when those titles are conferred by universities outside Ghana,” he said.

Barker-Vormawor further explained that there is no single global standard for what constitutes a professorship, noting that conventions differ widely between countries.

In the United States, for example, both tenure-track and non-tenure-track academics are addressed as “Professor”, whereas in the UK the title is reserved for senior academic appointments.

“To suggest that GTEC can apply a universal test is not just wrong, it misinforms the public,” he added.

The lawyer also criticised what he called GTEC’s tendency to react to social media discussions rather than follow due process, claiming that the Commission sometimes issues official letters without formal complaints from institutions.

He recalled that GTEC is already facing a defamation suit involving Professor Edward Dua Agyeman, requiring the Commission to prove that it had conducted adequate verification before questioning the academic’s credentials.

“If this is not regulatory fanfooling, I don’t know what is. And it undermines confidence in the Commission’s impartiality,” Barker-Vormawor remarked.

Warning that the Commission’s actions risk eroding trust in Ghana’s higher education system, Barker-Vormawor insisted that regulatory bodies must be guided by law, evidence, and transparency rather than public gossip or political influence.

“If GTEC continues to stretch its mandate, operate without clear standards, and chase headlines instead of doing its job, it will damage not only its own reputation but also the very system it was created to protect,” he said.

He further suggested that Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah, who has recently been at the centre of the controversy, should consider legal action against the Commission.

“If I was Prof. Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah, I would sue them. In fact, I will gladly be her lawyer.”

Barker-Vormawor accused GTEC of “academic dishonesty” in its handling of the matter.

“You can’t claim to be checking academic dishonesty while being neck-deep in one. To pretend there is a universal standard for professorships, and to pass off that pretence as official regulation, is academic dishonesty of the highest order,” he said.