The rise of unearned academic titles and fake certificates within Ghana’s public sector has resurfaced as a worrying structural weakness, threatening productivity, distorting salary administration and contributing to long-term financial losses to the state. Recent revelations about falsified qualifications within public institutions have deepened public frustration about inefficiency in a sector that already struggles with credibility challenges.
Economist Mr. Franklin Adjotor describes the situation as a silent economic burden, one that erodes the integrity of compensation systems and undermines workers who have legitimately earned their qualifications. In an interview with The High Street Journal, he explained that the link between education and productivity is well-established, but fake credentials break this logic and produce what he calls a “corruption-like financial drain.”
According to him, genuine education enhances a person’s ability to think critically, make informed decisions and deliver higher output. He explained that the jump in productivity from no education to basic education, or from secondary to tertiary education, is statistically significant. At higher levels, such as from master’s to PhD, the gains become smaller but remain meaningful. This natural relationship, he said, collapses the moment someone bypasses the proper process and still receives the salary and recognition of a degree holder. “If someone claims to have obtained a degree but cannot provide any documentation, and their level of thinking does not match up to a real degree holder, then we are paying them for something they cannot offer,” he said.
He stressed that the productivity of the person with the fake qualification does not necessarily change, because “already, the person hasn’t earned it yet.” The real damage, he noted, is the financial cost and the demoralising effect it has on those who genuinely obtained their certificates. The state ends up spending more than it should, while honest workers lose motivation as they watch others rise through fraudulent means.
Mr. Adjotor emphasised that salary distortions pose a significant financial risk to the state. In the public sector, salaries and promotions are often tied to academic credentials rather than performance-based indicators. Explaining this point, he said salaries are supposed to reflect a person’s ability to deliver. In private institutions, performance is evaluated using clear indicators known as key performance indicators. “If salaries are matched to qualification without looking into one’s ability to deliver, the government ends up paying people because of certificates, not because of their work output,” he said.
The implications for the public wage bill are severe. Adjotor illustrated this with a simple example. If a worker who should be earning a first-degree salary of about two or three thousand cedis falsely claims to have a master’s and receives four thousand monthly, the state is wasting an extra one thousand cedis every month. Over one financial year, that amounts to twelve thousand cedis. If the person remains in the system for twenty years, the cumulative loss becomes two hundred and forty thousand cedis. “If there are a hundred people like this, then the country is losing about 2.4 million cedis,” he said. The true national loss cannot be fully estimated unless a comprehensive audit reveals how widespread the issue is.
Mr. Adjotor believes the solution lies in overhauling the criteria for promotion in the public sector. Instead of simply rewarding academic certificates and years spent in a particular role, he recommends integrating performance-based evaluation into the system. He explained that private sector promotions are largely output-driven. A worker may spend only a short time in a role but can be promoted if he consistently meets his performance targets. In contrast, the public sector promotes workers based largely on the number of years served. “You might not work or deliver anything for three years, but you will still qualify for promotion simply because the time is due,” he said. This, he added, perpetuates a culture where people believe that once they possess a certificate, they are automatically entitled to advancement.
Although the economic risks are significant, Adjotor does not believe the trend has yet reached a level that directly threatens investor confidence. Investors, he explained, focus on broader indicators including macroeconomic stability, political stability, security and public debt management. However, he warned that the widespread acceptance of fake qualifications could tarnish Ghana’s international image, especially if employers abroad begin to question the authenticity of Ghanaian degrees. “It dents the image of the educational system,” he said, noting that hardworking students who earn their degrees legitimately may suffer reputational harm because of the actions of a few.
The ripple effect, he added, is that public trust in institutions declines, honest employees become demotivated and the labour market becomes less efficient. Ghana ultimately pays the price through slow service delivery and wasteful expenditure.
While investigations continue across several public agencies, experts like Mr. Adjotor insist that systemic reforms, digital verification of certificates and strict enforcement are non-negotiable if the state wants to restore confidence and protect public resources. For a country already grappling with a high wage bill, rising debt and slowed growth, Ghana can no longer afford the luxury of rewarding credentials that were never earned.
