Deputy Health Minister’s lawyers challenge GTEC over ‘professor’ title directive

Lawyers for Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah, have issued a firm response to the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) after the Commission directed her to cease using the title of “Professor.”

GTEC, in a letter dated 12 August 2025, addressed to the Chief of Staff at the Office of the President and copied to Dr. Ayensu-Danquah, the Minister of Health, the Clerk of Parliament, and the Board Chairman of GTEC, instructed that her employer ensure she stops presenting herself with the academic designation.

The Commission further warned that failure to comply could trigger legal action on grounds of public deception.

However, in a rebuttal dated 13 August 2025, Dr. Ayensu-Danquah’s solicitors, led by David K. Ametefe, described GTEC’s directive as “abrasive, unnecessarily combative, and disparaging.”

They argued that the Commission’s conclusions were unfounded, procedurally irregular, and reputationally damaging.

“The assessment appears to have been carried out without transparency, and without clear indication of the statutory or regulatory framework relied upon,” the letter stated.

The legal team further noted that the circulation of GTEC’s letters to high-ranking offices was both inappropriate and suggestive of political undertones.

“Your most recent letter was addressed directly to the Chief of Staff rather than to our client, a step that is both procedurally irregular and suggestive of an attempt to escalate a matter of academic interpretation into a political controversy,” the lawyers argued.

Dr. Ayensu-Danquah’s team is demanding that GTEC:

• Disclose the full process behind its conclusions.
• Clarify its statutory authority in the matter.
• Provide evidence that their client was given a fair opportunity to respond.
• Outline available mechanisms of appeal or redress under its framework.

They warned that failure to respond within 14 days would leave them no option but to pursue legal remedies, including orders of certiorari and mandamus, as well as declaratory relief to safeguard her reputation.

Yaw Opoku Amoako

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