The University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) has withheld the graduation of students linked to an academic results manipulation case in which more than 500 results were altered.
The university’s Vice Chancellor, Prof Kwaku Mensah Mawutor, disclosed the development at UPSA’s 18th Congregation on Saturday, September 26, saying investigations had linked 178 students to the case.
He said the manipulation was carried out after some students and other individuals gained unauthorised access to the university’s system.
“Some unscrupulous students and some unscrupulous individuals breached our system by hijacking our system and changing results in our system,” Prof Mawutor said.
According to him, investigations by the university established that “over 500 results were changed by 178 students.”
Prof Mawutor said the investigation also uncovered different levels of involvement among the students.
Some admitted paying people to alter their academic records, while others were found to have taken money from fellow students to facilitate changes to their results.
“After the investigations, a number of them came to confess that indeed, they paid money to some unscrupulous people to change their results. Others also denied, while others confessed that they collected monies from their colleagues,” he said.
The Vice Chancellor said the university considered the development unacceptable, particularly given the standards expected at UPSA.
“This is highly unacceptable, especially at UPSA,” Prof Mawutor stressed.
Some of the students implicated in the case were due to graduate at the 18th Congregation.
Their graduation, however, has been put on hold indefinitely as the university continues with its investigations and disciplinary procedures.
“Some of these culprits were supposed to graduate, but due to the hard work of our ISTD team and the investigative committee, we have withheld their graduation until further notice,” he said.
Prof Mawutor said UPSA had dealt with results manipulation cases before, but described the latest incident as significant because of the number of results and students involved.
“This is a very, very unfortunate incident, which to me is not the first time, but this time, the magnitude is very, very significant,” he said.
He commended the university’s Information Systems and Technology Directorate (ISTD) and the investigative committee for uncovering the manipulation and tracing those involved.
