"Every unprotected institution becomes a weak link in Ghana’s digital chain" - GTEC Boss

The Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Professor Ahmed Abdulai Jinapor, has cautioned that any tertiary institution that fails to strengthen its cybersecurity systems risks becoming a weak link in Ghana’s digital transformation agenda.

Speaking at the maiden National Cybersecurity Education Conference held in Accra, Prof. Jinapor underscored the urgent need for tertiary institutions to mainstream cybersecurity education and cultivate a culture of digital responsibility across all levels of higher learning.

"Every institution that goes unprotected becomes a weak link in our national digital chain,” he warned. “Cyber resilience is not only about technology — it is about people and principles. It reflects the ability of institutions to anticipate, absorb, and adapt to digital shocks while protecting the rights of users.”

The conference was organised through a collaboration between the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, and other development partners to promote cyber resilience and digital rights in higher education.

Prof. Jinapor said GTEC is working closely with the CSA and the Ministry of Education to develop a cohesive policy framework that ensures cybersecurity becomes an integral part of academic life.

“We aim to encourage curricular reforms that integrate cybersecurity across disciplines — ensuring that engineering students, teacher trainees, and business graduates alike can act responsibly in the digital domain,” he explained.

He commended the CSA’s leadership under the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038), describing its capacity-building and awareness programmes as instrumental in laying the foundation for a secure and globally competitive tertiary education system.

Highlighting the rising wave of cyberattacks, Prof. Jinapor noted that tertiary institutions — even small colleges — are now prime targets for criminals using ransomware, phishing, and identity theft schemes. He warned that the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has further complicated the cybersecurity landscape.

"These threats go beyond financial loss. They touch on academic freedom, intellectual property, and human dignity. Universities store critical national data in areas such as health, energy, and agriculture — and a breach in any of these sectors undermines public trust in digital governance,” he said.

Prof. Jinapor urged tertiary institutions to treat cybersecurity not as a technical afterthought but as a fundamental part of institutional culture.

He revealed that GTEC will soon include cybersecurity preparedness as a key component of its institutional quality assurance indicators, making cyber resilience as essential to credibility as academic accreditation.

He further encouraged university and college administrators to invest in digital security infrastructure, create policies for incident response, and train staff and students to identify and mitigate cyber risks.

Touching on digital rights, Prof. Jinapor called for a balance between technological innovation and ethical responsibility.

He said protecting privacy, freedom of expression, and access to information must remain at the core of digital transformation in education.

"Our goal is to create an ecosystem where technology empowers learning and research without compromising rights or inclusiveness,” he added.

Prof. Jinapor urged stronger partnerships between academia, the private sector, and government agencies to enhance cybersecurity research and innovation. He envisioned:

Technical universities serving as hubs for practical cybersecurity solutions;

Colleges of education integrating digital safety into teacher training; and

Research universities leading evidence-based policy development for national cyber resilience.

He reaffirmed GTEC’s commitment to working with the CSA and other partners to secure Ghana’s educational landscape and strengthen its cyber defence systems.

“Yet in every challenge lies an opportunity,” he concluded.

“Ghana’s youthful population and expanding tertiary sector give us a unique chance to lead Africa in cybersecurity education and digital resilience.”

Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith