Deputy Minister for Health under the current John Dramani Mahama-led administration is not a recognised professor as previously claimed in the public.
This revelation is contained in a statement issued by the Ghana Teriary Education Commission (GTEC), the statutory body established by the Government of Ghana (through the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020, Act 1023) to regulate, supervise, and coordinate all tertiary education institutions in the country.
According to GTEC, the Deputy Minister who doubles as law maker for Essikado-Ketan claim that she holds the academic rank of professor has no evidence backing it.
A letter sighted by ghnow.com addressed Julius Debrah, Chief of Staff at the Presidency, the Commission explained that it had asked Dr. Ayensu-Danquah to provide proof of her professorial appointment by August 11, 2025.
Her counsel, led by David K. Ametefe, responded on August 8, saying that she had been appointed an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Utah in the United States. They also questioned GTEC’s authority to request evidence of an appointment made outside Ghana.
GTEC added that a letter from the University of Utah, signed by Prof. W. Bradford Rockwell, Vice Chair for Academic Affairs in the Department of Surgery, named that Dr. Ayensu-Danquah was appointed as an Adjunt Assistant Professor, not an Assistant Professor she claimed.
Additionally, GTEC noted that omitting the term “Adjunct” was misleading, stressing that such a role is non-tenure track and, within Ghana’s academic framework, is equivalent to a part-time lecturer, not a senior lecturer, and certainly not a professor.
“Based on the above, the Commission concludes that Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah does not hold the title of Professor in any capacity,” the letter stated.
GTEC has called on her employers to ensure she stops presenting herself as a professor, warning that if she continues, it may be forced to take legal action on grounds of public deception.
Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah attracted public interest when Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo Markins vehemently demanded proof her professor-ship rank during her vetting as Deputy Health Minister nominee.