The Central University College (CUC), owned by Reverend Dr. Mensah Otabil and the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) is under intense pressure from parents and pioneer students of its Communication Studies department over the status of their certificates.

The students are yet to receive their Bachelor of Arts certificates since they completed school in 2015. The General Telegraph has gathered that the graduation class of 2015 did not receive their certificates on the day of their graduation (December 5, 2015) because their mentoring university, the University of Ghana (UoG), insists that the department of Communication Studies at the CUC change the wide courses that were being offered.

Our sources within the administration of the school have revealed that the University of Ghana has not granted CUC the authorization to run those courses. The university which had recently gotten a Presidential Charter to operate as a full – fledged university to award its own degrees is embarrassed about the issue and has warned staffs and students not to disclose this information.

Sources among management of the school who spoke to this paper said, “The University of Ghana withheld the names of our students because they want the department to change the university wide courses and also to secure an affiliation from them before our students can be recognized”.

Some aggrieved students who spoke to this newspaper on conditions of anonymity said the university called some of them on phone whiles others were sent e-mails on December 3, 2015 to come and witness the ceremony and take pictures, however, their certificates won’t be given to them at the ceremony but on a later date when they have fully sorted out the challenges with the UoG.

According to them, management of the school has promised to collaborate with the University of Ghana to organize a ‘secret ceremony’ for them where their certificates would officially be given to them.

The aggrieved students said they are currently worried about their fate because they don’t know whether to refer to themselves as university graduates or Senior High School leavers because of the treatment meted out to them by CUC. They described the manner in which the school communicated to them on December, 3, 2015, thus two days to the graduation as “dubious and wicked”.

According to the students, the university suspects they will be going to court for an injunction which is why management of the school deliberately informed them at the close of Thursday, December 3 last year, whereas the authorities know Friday December 4, was Farmers day and therefore a holiday and the court won’t be working.

When The General Telegraph contacted officials of the UoG they directed our team to go speak with the management of the Central University College. Our attempts to get authorities at the CUC to speak to the issue proved futile as management remained tight-lipped on the issue.