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University of Ghana exonerates Prof. Gyampo and Butakor over 'sex for grades' scandal

The University of Ghana has exonerated two of its lecturers - Professor Ransford Gyampo and Dr. Paul Kwame Butakor - who were accused of sexual misconduct in an expose by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Embattled UG lecturer, Prof. Ransford Gyampo

However, the two lecturers were found guilty of conducting themselves in a manner that brought disgrace to the University and and will therefore face a disciplinary committee.

In a report released by a fact-finding committee into the allegations, they held that the lecturers breached the University's policy on sexual harassment.

“The committee finds that on the totality of the evidence before it, there is a huge variance between the import of the title: ‘Sex for grades’, and the content of the actual secret video recording of the affected lecturers of the University of Ghana,” it said.

The report was presented by the committee to the university authorities in November 2019, but the details were not made public.

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On November 20, 2019, the university, in a statement, said the two lecturers had been referred to the disciplinary committee, but the committee is yet to make a determination.

On the issue of sexual misconduct, the six-member fact-finding committee reached the conclusion that there was no evidence from the BBC documentary which proved any act of sexual misconduct on the part of the lecturers within the context of the university’s regulations.

“The committee notes that neither the documentary nor the BBC has provided any evidence to demonstrate that the affected lecturers demanded sex in exchange for grades, as asserted by the title of the documentary: ‘Sex for grades’,” the report stated.

It further noted that the title of the documentary was sensational and misleading.

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Explaining its findings, the committee said per paragraphs 10.1, 12.1 and 12.4 of the Code of Conduct for Academic Staff and the Anti-Sexual Harassment and Misconduct Policy of the university, a victim of sexual misconduct must be a member of the university.

However, the evidence on record showed that the two alleged victims in the video — Zara and Abigail — were not members of the university.

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