The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has directed Richard Kofi Asiedu, the Central Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and CEO of St Andrews Group of Schools, to stop using the title “Doctor.”
This directive, issued in a letter dated August 13, 2025, and signed by GTEC’s Deputy Director-General, Prof Augustine Ocloo, follows an earlier order from July 31, 2025, where the Commission had already told Asiedu to stop using the title “Professor.”
GTEC’s investigation found that Asiedu’s “Dr” title is from an honorary degree, which, according to academic standards in Ghana, does not qualify for use as an academic title in public or official settings.
The Commission’s intelligence confirmed that the doctorate was honorary and not an earned academic title.
The letter explicitly stated, “Pending the submission and successful verification of a formally earned Doctorate certificate, you are hereby directed to immediately cease the use of the title ‘Doctor’ or the abbreviation ‘Dr’ in all official, professional and public contexts.”
GTEC stressed that it is conducting a nationwide effort to “sanitise the use of unearned academic titles in Ghana” due to a growing trend of people using such titles without merit.
The correspondence was also copied to the Chief of Staff at the Office of the President.
