The Academic Staff Association, University of Sierra Leone (ASA-USL) is appalled by various media publications on the illegal award of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees to Sierra Leoneans by some suspicious institutions operating both locally and internationally.
According to a press release issued on Tuesday 5th April, 2022, ASA-USL is particularly concerned that some of those institutions have been operating in the country publicly and arrogating to themselves the authority to award higher degrees (eg. PhD) to prominent person highly-placed in both public and private sectors.
“The actions of these unscrupulous institutions, to say the least, are both embarrassing and inimical to the many Sierra Leoneans who have earned their higher qualifications through hard work and merit…ASA-USL is perturbed that the apparent unregulated nature of the award of degrees by fake institutions and the use of academic titles by their awardees seriously undermine the credibility of our education system thereby impeding international recognition of academic awards from trustworthy universities in Sierra Leone”, the release noted.
It further explained that they make a huge mockery of the President’s call for the promotion of quality education in the country.
It added that, ASA-USL calls on the Government, in particular the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education and the Tertiary Education Commission, to take urgent steps to stop this ugly trend.
“Furthermore, ASA-USL calls for an immediate and thorough
investigation of public officials holding and benefiting from such dubious degrees…Where they are found to have colluded with these rogue institutions for such awards, they must be sacked with immediate effect and the law made to take its course as practical steps towards sanitising our education system and restoring international trust”, the release maintained.
Moving forward, ASA-USL strongly suggests that the TEC Act is amended to include new provisions on the authentication of higher degree certificates, diplomas and other academic titles. The TEC should set up a committee consisting the Conference of Vice Chancellors & Principals, the Ministry of Technical & Higher Education and the Academic Staff Associations to research, investigate and authenticate all institutions involved in issuing degrees, diplomas and certificates locally or internationally, online or real time.
This committee the release added shall create and manage, among others, a publicly accessible database of Sierra Leoneans and foreigners (where applicable) with higher academic qualifications.
