{"id":122245,"date":"2026-05-29T14:38:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T14:38:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=122245"},"modified":"2026-05-29T14:38:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T14:38:29","slug":"dr-noel-nutsugah-writes-ghanaian-universities-must-take-the-predatory-journal-crisis-seriously","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=122245","title":{"rendered":"Dr Noel Nutsugah Writes: Ghanaian universities Must Take the predatory journal crisis seriously"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Across the Higher Education sector in Ghana, there is one uncomfortable conversation that keeps resurfacing on social media, in academic corridors, and within faculty WhatsApp groups. No! It\u2019s not about conditions of service, even though that still dominates the conversations each day. It is about predatory journals and questionable academic promotions, especially in several Ghanaian universities. While some may dismiss the discussion as mere academic politics or online \u201cwars,\u201d the reality is that the matter strikes at the very heart of academic integrity, institutional reputation, and the credibility of Ghanaian scholarship in general.<\/p>\n

In my very candid opinion, I think the time has come for Ghanaian universities to treat the issue of predatory publishing with the seriousness it deserves.<\/p>\n

For the ordinary Ghanaian, the phrase \u201cpredatory journal\u201d may sound quite strange or technical, but the concept itself is straightforward. Predatory journals are fake or low-quality academic journals that pretend to be legitimate scholarly outlets, publishing the research works of some lecturers. They often charge researchers publication fees without conducting peer review or editorial scrutiny on the research works submitted. In many cases, these journals promise unrealistically quick publication timelines, send aggressive email invitations to academics, and falsely claim to have international credibility or indexing.<\/p>\n

In simple terms, they are the academic equivalent of counterfeit products. They look genuine on the surface but lack the standards, rigour, and credibility of authentic scholarly publications.<\/p>\n

The worrying reality is that some academics across universities globally, including in Ghana, have built parts of their academic careers on such publications. In some instances, individuals have reportedly gained appointments and promotions largely on the back of publications in questionable outlets. For me, this is both an administrative concern and an ethical issue that threatens the integrity of academia itself.<\/p>\n

Universities are expected to be custodians of knowledge and intellectual honesty. If promotions and recognitions are based on publications that did not undergo scholarly scrutiny, then the value of academic titles and ranks becomes diluted. Over time, this can erode public confidence in universities and damage the reputation of institutions both locally and internationally.<\/p>\n

Beyond institutional reputation, there is also a broader societal danger. Research published without proper peer review can produce misleading conclusions and harmful recommendations that unsuspecting members of the public may accept and act upon. Imagine, for instance, a predatory journal publishing a study falsely suggesting that drinking alcohol was beneficial for treating COVID-19. If such misinformation were circulated widely, some people could rely on it and suffer serious health consequences. The havoc that can arise from poorly scrutinised research is therefore not theoretical as it can directly affect public health, policy decisions, and the overall societal well-being.<\/p>\n

More importantly, this is also a reputational issue for Ghanaian academia. We live in an era where the authenticity of journals can be verified within minutes. Numerous digital tools, indexing platforms, citation databases, and journal evaluation systems now exist to help assess the legitimacy of academic outlets. Increasingly, even non-academics can verify whether a journal is credible.<\/p>\n

In fact, recent technological developments have made the situation even more transparent. Today, there are browser extensions that can provide quick indicators about the quality and credibility of publications directly from a researcher\u2019s Google Scholar profile. With just a few clicks, people can now determine whether publications are indexed in reputable databases.<\/p>\n

\"Dr<\/figure>\n

This is what makes the current situation particularly troubling. Despite the abundance of these verification tools, some individuals still freely parade academic ranks and titles that may have been significantly predicated on predatory publications that can easily be scrutinised and questioned. In an age of digital transparency, this creates long-term reputational risks for individuals and also for the institutions they associate with.<\/p>\n

The recent social media battles around this issue should therefore not be ignored. While some conversations have, unfortunately, become personalised, they nevertheless reveal a growing public concern about academic standards. These discussions are forcing universities to confront difficult questions of whether current promotion systems are sufficiently rigorous and whether all faculties are equally equipped to evaluate journal quality. Again, the question is whether early-career academics receive adequate guidance on credible publishing pathways.<\/p>\n

These are questions universities can no longer afford to avoid.<\/p>\n

To be fair, not every academic who publishes in a predatory journal does so intentionally. Early-career researchers, particularly in developing academic environments, are often under immense pressure to \u201cpublish or perish.\u201d Many may lack adequate mentorship or training in distinguishing credible journals from deceptive ones. Others may be misled by fake indexing claims or aggressive solicitation emails.<\/p>\n

This is why peer mentoring is one of the most important solutions.<\/p>\n

Academics who already publish in credible and internationally respected outlets must support their colleagues, especially early-career researchers. Senior scholars should help younger academics understand the rigour, culture, standards, rubrics, and processes associated with credible publishing. They can provide guidance on journal selection, manuscript preparation, peer review expectations, indexing systems, and publication ethics. Such mentoring arrangements should become an institutional responsibility.<\/p>\n

Universities must also strengthen their internal quality assurance systems regarding promotions and appointments. Promotion committees should move beyond merely counting publication numbers and focus more critically on publication quality, journal indexing, editorial standards, impact, and scholarly contribution. Institutions should regularly train faculty evaluators on emerging predatory publishing tactics and maintain updated guidelines on acceptable publication outlets.<\/p>\n

Additionally, universities should invest in institutional access to reputable journal databases and verification tools that can assist both staff and promotion committees in assessing journal credibility. Academic integrity cannot depend solely on assumptions or personal networks.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the credibility of Ghanaian higher education depends on the number of professors we produce and also the integrity of the scholarly processes that produce them. Academic titles must represent genuine scholarly contribution, rigorous peer review, and intellectual excellence and not merely publication counts accumulated through questionable outlets.<\/p>\n

If Ghanaian universities fail to decisively address the predatory publishing phenomenon, the long-term consequences may extend far beyond academia. The global reputation of our institutions, the employability of our graduates, the credibility of our research outputs, and the trust society places in academic expertise may all be affected.<\/p>\n

This conversation may be uncomfortable, but it is necessary. Protecting academic integrity is not an attack on individuals. It is a defence of the university system itself.<\/p>\n

\u2013<\/p>\n

The writer is Dr Noel Nutsugah, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Media, Arts and Communication (UniMAC).<\/em><\/p>\n

UniMAC is a public university birthed out of the merger of the former Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), Ghana Institute of Languages (GIL) and National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI).<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Across the Higher Education sector in Ghana, there is one uncomfortable conversation that keeps resurfacing on social media, in academic corridors, and within faculty WhatsApp groups. No! It\u2019s not about conditions of service, even though that still dominates the conversations each day. It is about predatory journals and questionable academic promotions, especially in several Ghanaian [\u2026]<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":122249,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18752,491,2128,1883,477,10,9,18753,11143],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dr-noel-nutsugah","category-education","category-hp-opinion-1","category-national","category-opinion","category-politics","category-popular","category-predatory-journal","category-universities"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=122245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/122249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=122245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=122245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=122245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}