Hundreds more were wounded when a lorry packed with explosives detonated near the entrance of a hotel.

It is the deadliest terror attack in Somalia since the Islamist al-Shabab group launched its insurgency in 2007.

It is not clear who staged the bombing, but Mogadishu is a target for al-Shabab militants battling the government.

President Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmajo” Mohamed has declared three days of mourning for the victims of the blast.

Local media reported families gathering in the area on Sunday morning, looking for missing loved ones amid the ruins of one of the largest bombs ever to strike the city.

Police official Ibrahim Mohamed told AFP news agency the death toll is likely to rise. “There are more than 300 wounded, some of them seriously,” he said.

Officials also confirmed that two people were killed in a second bomb attack in the Madina district of the city.

A BBC Somali reporter at the scene of the main blast said the Safari Hotel had collapsed, with people trapped under the rubble.

An eyewitness, local resident Muhidin Ali, told news agency AFP it was “the biggest blast I have ever witnessed, it destroyed the whole area”.

Meanwhile, the director of the Madina Hospital, Mohamed Yusuf Hassan, said he was shocked by the scale of the attack.

“Seventy-two wounded people were admitted to the hospital and 25 of them are in very serious condition. Others lost their hands and legs at the scene.

“What happened yesterday was incredible, I have never seen such a thing before, and countless people lost their lives. Corpses were burned beyond recognition.”

–

Source: BBC

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A statement issued on Monday, September 8 and signed by the Executive Secretary, Kwame Dattey, said that the situation was “in contravention of the Tertiary Institutions (Establishment and Accreditation Regulations, 2010 – LI 1984, Section 13 (1&2) and Section 19 (1&2).”

The statement added that the conferment of honourary degrees on individuals was the “prerogative of degree awarding institutions,” including the University of Ghana and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and as such it was illegal for unaccredited institutions to do so.

The statement went on to advise the public to be cautious in their dealings with such institutions and to “verify the accreditation status and degree-awarding powers of the institutions that seek accreditation status and degree-awarding powers of the institutions that seek to confer on them honorary degrees to avoid any embarrassing fallouts.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”xR8kOPpPTt82kAoPmbhIi797G6HHtLUa”]Find below the full statement from the National Accreditation Board.

PUBLIC NOTICE ON THE CONFERMENT OF HONORARY DEGREES

The National Accreditation Board (NAB) has noticed with concern the spate of conferment of honorary degrees and emeritus professorships on some personalities by some unaccredited institutions, accredited institutions unqualified to award degrees on their own and other institutions with doubtful credentials. These are in contravention of the Tertiary Institutions (Establishment and Accreditation Regulations, 2010 – LI 1984, Section 13 (1&2) and Section 19 (1&2).

The conferment of honorary degrees is the prerogative of degree awarding institutions so mandated. Therefore accredited private tertiary institutions operating under the mentorship of chartered, degree-awarding universities are not qualified by themselves to confer honorary degrees. Any such institutions that do so are in contravention of Regulation 19 (1) of Legislative Instrument 1984 which states that: An accredited institution shall not issue certificates or award its own degrees, diplomas or honorary degree without a Charter grated to it for that purpose by the President.

There are also instances where some foreign institutions confer such honorary degrees, particularly doctorate degrees on prominent personalities with intent to legitimize and popularize the operations of the institutions in Ghana, and thereby seek to attract unsuspecting students to enroll in them.

The National Accreditation Board wishes to caution the general public and advise that distinguished personalities invited for such awards should verify the accreditation status and degree-awarding powers of the institutions that seek accreditation status and degree-awarding powers of the institutions that seek to confer on them honorary degrees to avoid any embarrassing fallouts.

For the avoidance of doubt, as per our current records, only the following institutions established in Ghana are eligible to confer honorary degrees:

University of Ghana, Legon
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
University of Cape Coast
University of Education, Winneba
University for Development Studies
University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa
University of Professional Studies, Accra
University of Health and Allied Sciences
University of Energy and Natural Resources
Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration
Ghana Institute of Journalism
Valley View University
Akrofi-Christaller Memorial Research Institute
Trinity Theological College
The National Accreditation Board hereby warns institutions engaged in this illegality to desist or be prepared to face sanctions prescribed by the law.

Signed,
Mr. Kwame Dattey
Executive Secretary
National Accreditation Board

By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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He said if the institutions themselves set and maintain high benchmarks for Lecturers, Administrative and Faculty Staff, as well as students, the job of the Board would be much easier.

Mr Adjei was speaking at the 5th Congregation of the Evangelical Presbyterian University College (EPUC) in Ho at the weekend.

He cautioned Ghanaians against undertaking courses with undocumented schools, since certificates awarded them by those schools would be worthless.

Mr Adjei said typically, the USA and China were the origins of such schools, advising that prospective candidates should visit the website of NAB for verification.

He lauded EPUC for being “one of the obedient institutions” in dealings with NAB.

A total of 331 students graduated in Business Administration (Accounting and Finance), Business Administration (Marketing), Business Administration (Human Resource Management and Organizational Development), Agribusiness, Integrated Development Studies and Corporate Secretaryship and Management.

Rev Dr Cyril Fayose, President of EPUC, said the College was striving hard to expand, to enable it pursue additional programmes.

The new areas of study include languages and environmental science.

Rev Dr Charles Owiredu, Member of the Governing Council, charged the new graduates to find new paths and “if you don’t, blaze new paths”.

He said they must be undaunted, and that in these times when mediocrity was normal, they should strain “to be abnormal to succeed.”

Professor Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, Dean of the Faculty of Education at the Cape Coast University (UCC), EPUC’s mentoring institution, observed that the students were going out at a time when the country was facing challenges of unemployment and underemployment.

He, therefore, advised them not be complacent.

Francis Ganyaglo, Deputy Volta Regional Minister, suggested to the University Council to begin planning a graduate school for EPUC.

Kofi Attor, Chief Executive of the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), who was the Guest of Honour, said ICT as a learning tool had come to stay.

The theme for the congregation was “Embarking on ICT Pathway in the 21st Century for Advance Education”.

The Best-All-Round-Student was Joseph Kwasi Agbeka, who also had a First Class in Business Administration, Human Resource Management.

Wonder Bright Asiamah, won the Francis Ganyaglo Award of a laptop worth Ghc 2,000 for being the Best Marketing Student.

Two Lecturers,  Dr Oliver Dzogbede and Mr Winfred S. Agbegoe, shared the Ghc 5,000 Best Lecturer Award, instituted by Togbe Afede the Fourteenth, Paramount Chief of the Asogli Traditional Area, Ghc 2,000 and Ghc 3,000 respectively.

Source: GNA

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