Legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, has petitioned the Governing Board of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) on behalf of the Swiss Management Centre (SMC) University Alumni Association (Ghana Chapter), contesting what he describes as the “illegal derecognition” of degrees awarded by SMC University in Switzerland.
In the petition dated October 27, 2025, Mr. Kpebu argued that the directive issued by the Commission’s Director-General, which declared SMC degrees unrecognized, was both procedurally and substantively flawed.
He stated that the decision violated principles of fairness, due process, and legitimate expectation.
According to the petition, SMC University was accredited by the former National Accreditation Board (NAB) between 2012 and 2018 as a recognized foreign tertiary institution operating in Ghana.
During that period, the university offered several postgraduate programmes, including Doctor of Finance (DFin), Doctor of Management (DoM), and Doctor of Business Administration (DBA).
Mr. Kpebu explained that NAB’s withdrawal of SMC’s accreditation in 2018 was based on the school’s “home-country accreditation” status but permitted already enrolled students to complete their programmes and graduate with valid degrees.
He cited multiple NAB communications confirming that those degrees would remain legitimate even after the withdrawal.
However, the recent GTEC directive reportedly reversed those assurances, instructing employers and institutions to disregard SMC degrees — a move Mr. Kpebu described as ultra vires (beyond the Director-General’s authority).
He argued that the decision lacked the approval of the GTEC Board, thereby contravening the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023).
“The directive seeks to apply retrospectively to degrees lawfully earned years earlier, which is contrary to Article 107 of the 1992 Constitution that prohibits retrospective laws,” the petition stated.
Mr. Kpebu further claimed that the decision breached the rights of SMC graduates to natural justice and fair hearing, warning that it could lead to reputational harm, job losses, and misconceptions about their qualifications.
He, therefore, urged the GTEC Board to:
- Suspend the directive pending a full review.
- Reaffirm the validity of degrees earned under NAB accreditation up to 2018.
- Issue an official clarification to employers and the public to correct misinformation.
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