The University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) has exposed a widespread academic fraud operation in which 178 students were involved in altering more than 500 examination results stored in the institution’s digital records
Vice-Chancellor Professor Kwaku Mensah Mawutor revealed the scandal while addressing guests at UPSA’s 18th Congregation, calling it a grave and deeply troubling breach of academic integrity.
He explained that a group of students, working with external accomplices, illegally accessed the university’s information system and modified official grade entries.
““Some unscrupulous students and some unscrupulous individuals breached our system by hijacking our system and changing results in our system,” Prof Mawutor stated.
According to the Vice-Chancellor, forensic checks by the university’s technical and investigative teams confirmed that over 500 result records had been changed, with 178 students directly implicated.
“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 stressed.
Several of the students under investigation were originally lined up to receive their awards at the 18th Congregation ceremony.
However, UPSA has indefinitely postponed their graduation pending the conclusion of ongoing probes and disciplinary hearings.
Professor Mawutor credited the Information Systems and Technology Directorate (ISTD) and a special investigative committee for detecting the irregularities and preventing the affected candidates from graduating prematurely.
The Vice-Chancellor stressed that such conduct is intolerable, especially at an institution like UPSA that prides itself on professionalism and ethical standards.
He noted that while similar incidents have occurred in the past, the current case stands out due to its unusually large magnitude.
University leadership has pledged to strengthen system safeguards and pursue all available sanctions against those found responsible.
