Management of the University of Ghana (UG) has responded to concerns raised by the public regarding the publication of the names of students involved in examination malpractice, explaining that the act is in accordance with the school’s principles.

Speaking during an interview with Citi News, Director of Academic Affairs, Lydia Anowa Nyarko Danquah, indicated that the move is aimed at protecting the integrity of the institution and also serving as a deterrent to others.

She shot down claims that the publication of the students’ names was intended to shame them.

However, she revealed that it is a policy that has been in effect long before the recent publication of the list of offending students.

“This is university policy; we do it every year. We have a process to sanction students who commit malpractices during exams. We want to discourage that because it goes against the university’s image and against the value of the certificate you receive as a student when you graduate.

“It is not like we want to punish or shame people for evil reasons. We just want to discourage it,” she said.

Her remarks come after the Office of the school’s Registrar released a list of students found guilty of examination malpractice on Wednesday, May 13. The announcement detailed the sanctions imposed, including Grade Z (failure of the entire semester’s examinations) and Grade X (failure in specific courses).

According to the University, 32 students, both undergraduate and graduate, were caught.

Nature of the offenses

Some of the students were caught in possession of unauthorised materials, and others were also caught using mobile phones, including one case involving ChatGPT access during the exams.Some, on the other hand, were caught copying from notes or devices, exposing answer booklets for other candidates to copy.

Meanwhile, students of the University of Ghana have expressed mixed reactions to the move.

While some believe the directive will deter students from engaging in malpractice, others argue that, despite its intentions, the policy could subject affected students to psychological distress and stigma.

“Even though I think the university has good intentions for publishing the names, I also think that it exposes the students to a certain level of mental trauma,” a student said.

“I think it’s high time we dealt with people who engage in such behaviour because examinations have rules. I don’t think the university is wrong,” another noted.

Meanwhile, last year, as part of efforts to enforce academic discipline, the University of Ghana (UG), Legon, announced the dismissal of all students who obtained a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) below 1.0 at the end of the 2024/2025 academic year.

The dismissal was announced in an official statement dated October 2 and signed by Mrs. Lydia Anowa Nyarko-Danquah, Director of Academic Affairs, with reference number AA.0IE/10-25. UG explained that the move was in line with its academic regulations.

The decision was based on Section 9.26 of the University Regulations for Junior Members (2017), which stated that “A student who at the end of any academic year has a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) below 1.00 shall be withdrawn from the University.”

The regulations further clarified that there would be no probation for students who failed to meet the academic benchmark.

As a result, students who failed to achieve the minimum CGPA requirement were considered not to be in good academic standing and were required to withdraw from their respective programmes with immediate effect.

The affected students were given until the end of November 2025 to confirm their withdrawal from the institution through their official UG email addresses.

The University did not explicitly state the penalty for students who failed to comply with the directive, but noted that, for some programmes, withdrawal letters would also be issued directly by the relevant schools or departments.