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The Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) has dismissed claims that it is frustrating PhD students, affirming its commitment to maintaining academic integrity and upholding rigorous research standards.
In a statement signed by the Rector, Professor Samuel Kwaku Bonsu, the Institute described recent media reports suggesting that management was deliberately preventing students from graduating as “misleading and unfair.”
GIMPA explained that its PhD programme, which began in 2015, has so far produced about 35 graduates. It emphasized that doctoral education is an intensive scholarly process focused on originality, quality, and contribution to global knowledge — not a race to meet deadlines.
According to the statement, the Institute has introduced several measures to enhance academic quality and efficiency. These include faculty development through training and mentorship, structured doctoral seminars and research methodology workshops, and improved internal and external peer review systems. GIMPA added that its doctoral processes have been streamlined to boost efficiency while preserving academic rigor.
A major component of these reforms, the statement noted, is the ad hoc Academic Board Committee, which reviews student research before public presentations. Management clarified that this additional review is a standard quality assurance practice among reputable universities and does not interfere with the supervision process.
While acknowledging a petition from some PhD students to the Governing Council, GIMPA maintained that it will not lower its academic standards.
“GIMPA cannot graduate students who have not met the required quality standards of a PhD programme. The standards remain unchanged; what has been added is an extra layer of quality assurance,” the statement stressed.
Professor Bonsu reaffirmed GIMPA’s dedication to producing high-calibre doctoral graduates whose research will contribute meaningfully to Ghana’s development and to global scholarship.
Source: Omanghana.com
