The 2021 Auditor General's Report has exposed that the University of Ghana, Legon, is running 371 unaccredited programs, including 80 undergraduate courses, along with 213 postgraduate and 67 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) courses.
Similarly, officials from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) also acknowledged before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament that the institution was running unaccredited programs.
The Registrar of the University of Ghana, Mrs. Emelia Agyei-Mensah, assured the committee that 60 of the undergraduate programs have been fully accredited, and measures have been implemented to ensure all outstanding unaccredited courses go through the accreditation process successfully.
The KNUST Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Rita Akosua Dickson, emphasized the university's efforts towards accreditation and revealed a collaboration with the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission to address the challenge.
She mentioned the use of technology to solve problems and the regulator's development of an electronic app to improve processes.
Apart from the unaccredited programs issue, the Auditor General's Report also highlighted that more than GH¢1.23 million from the University of Ghana's Research and Development Fund was locked up in a private investment firm, contrary to the Vice-Chancellor's directive.
The report also identified challenges at the university's learning centres across the country. The Registrar, however, clarified that, apart from Wa, which was about 50% complete, and the Bolgatanga centre, all other centres were functioning properly.
Additionally, encroachment on the university's land in the Volta Region by a private developer was reported, but the Director of Finance stated that the developer had been evicted and proper documentation for all the university's lands had been done and secured.
The University of Ghana is also constructing a 1,000-bed hostel facility through internally generated funds to accommodate more students.
During the committee session, the escalating prices of hostel facilities, with some charging as high as GH¢24,000 per year, were discussed, calling for a national dialogue to address the issue.
MP Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor advocated the prosecution of leaders of public institutions, particularly universities, for financial infractions.
