Deputy CEO, EPA weighs in on Dr. Grace Ayensu’s Professorship title debate
The Deputy Chief Executive (Operations) of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) Prof. Michael Ayamga-Adongo, has added his voice to the ongoing debate surrounding the use of the title “Professor” by Deputy Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah
According to him, professorship in Ghana is earned through a rigorous career process involving years of teaching, research, publications, and reviews by both internal and external academic peers and this done by a duly constituted university council.
Speaking on the matter on Tuesday, 19 August, 2025, on ChannelOne’s Breakfast daily show, he noted that the controversy is less about personal intentions and more about cultural and systemic differences between Ghana and other academic environments.
“The issue of titles has more to do with Ghanaian culture than individuals. It is what we think titles can do that makes them so sensitive,
“By contrast, in the United States and North America, the title “Professor” functions more as a job description than a career stage. Entry-level faculty are often called “Assistant Professors,” followed by “Associate Professors,” before attaining “Full Professor” status,” he said.
“I don’t think the Deputy Minister wants to beat the system. It is just that she comes from a system that described her as a professor, and she is bringing it here. What is not helping her case is trying to project it as if it is equivalent to what happens here. Was she a professor in the United States? Yes. Can she hold herself as a professor, maybe outside? Yes, but not in the university here. These are the intricacies of the issue”.
“So, when someone who has been called a professor in the U.S. comes to Ghana, they may continue using the title even though, by our standards, they would rank as a lecturer or senior lecturer,” he clarified.
He stressed that this should not necessarily be seen as an attempt to beat the system”or engage in academic fraud. Instead, it reflects linguistic and cultural differences in academic traditions.
Commenting directly on Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah’s case, the EPA Deputy CEO suggested that she may have legitimately carried the title from her academic background abroad.
“Was she a professor in the U.S.? Yes. Can she hold herself here as a professor? Outside the university system, maybe yes, but within our universities, no. The challenge is projecting it as if it is equivalent to what applies here, and that is where the confusion lies,” he said.
He also urged the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to focus its regulatory efforts on individuals deliberately abusing academic titles rather than those who come from different academic traditions.
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