Ranking Member on the Committee of Education and Honourable Member of Parliament for Akatsi North, Mr. Peter Nortsu-Kotoe has said the phenomenon of people obtaining fake academic certificate is tarnishing the image of the Nation.
In a statement on the floor of Parliament, Mr. Nortsu-Kotoe said there is the need to establish a National Qualifications Board to fight the canker.
He added that if the Board is established it should be able to vigorously verify certificates, so that the embarrassment facing the nation in the academic world would be eliminated.
He further noted that the type of education given to people in the 1980s in the castle and mission schools prepared them for life.
He reiterated that “this legacy is being eroded by the emergence of fake certificates being awarded at various levels. Quite a number of people are not prepared to study to obtain certificates but are prepared to pay people to write for them or either buy fake certificates”.
Mr. Nortsu-Kotoe recounted that few years back, verification exercise carried out by the Ghana Education Service revealed that a large number of people got employed with fake certificates.
He went on to state that “For political parties to avoid embarrassment, they should take steps to verify certificates of persons seeking political office in their names, before any embarrassment befalls them as political parties”.
In a contribution by the former Minister for Sports and the Honourable Member of Parliament for Wa Central, Mr. Rashid Pelpuo, he said it is criminal to obtain fake certificate.
According to him, the issue of fake degrees is killing the nation and should not be taken lightly, because it is reducing the quality of the graduate certificates in the country.
He also added that “I would support any effort made by the National Accreditation Board to flash out institutions giving out fake certificates”.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education is severally being requested by employers and institutions abroad to verify certificates that are emanating from Ghana for authentication.
Source: GhanaJustice/S.Ayisi
