The Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone, James Sanpha Koroma, has been exposed by the Whistle Blower, Dr John Idriss Lahai, of having a fake PhD degree.

Dr Lahai describes James Sanpha Koroma as the first non-partisan/apolitical Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone (USL)who was installed as the Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone (on Tuesday 30th November 2021) after he was appointed by H.E. President Julius Maada Bio, who decided to end the tradition of having the incumbent president of Sierra Leone serving as Chancellor of USL.

And stated that he is using the title of a “Dr.” which is a misrepresentation as his PhD was given to him by a non academic institution (the International Bibliographic Center in England).

According to Dr Lahai’s findings, the International Biographical Centre, according to the information on its website, is a publishing house owned by Melrose Press Ltd specializing in the collection, binding, printing and sales of biographical books such as the “Who’s Who, the Dictionary of International Biography, the Great Men and Women of Science and in the granting of vanity awards.

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He explained further on vanity award: “ What is a vanity award? A vanity award is an award in which the recipient of the honorary degree award buys the award and/or marketing services to give the appearance of a legitimate honour. Put another way, receiving an honorary doctorate from IBC is an option once the recipient’s biographic details are included in their voluminous book series called Who’s Who.”

He further stated that the Chancellor, Sanpha Koroma received the honorary degree for his Who’s Who entry by the IBC (a non-academic institution.

“What this means is that, in most cases, nominations for honorary doctorate awards from (or special memberships into) the International Biographical Centre comes with a cost. The honoree (someone who receives their mention and/or honorary PhD) is required to pay (money payment) for the recognition — although some have received this honorary mention free of charge. Either way, you can contact them directly to verify my claim. The International Biographical Centre is situated on St Thomas’ Place,  Ely, Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom” he explained further.

He went on to say that Sanpha Koroma received his letter of award on November 4, 2014. The letter (which was sent via a courier mail service from Cambridge) reiterated that as a publisher, they were delighted to inform Sanpha Koroma that his nomination for the award was done “…entirely through merit;” adding that, since their founding in 1967 only “a select few have been honored with [their] prestigious Doctorate and it reflects an ultimate recognition of [Sanpha Koroma’s] lifetime achievements”.

He continued that the letter also noted that the “awards” they give out to people were reserved for “those who have achieved the most and have contributed bountifully to the development of their countries and localities.”

“Since the IBC is neither an academic institution nor is the award an academic doctorate, why is our chancellor using the Dr title in all his official activities as Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone?” He questioned.

Dr Lahai stated that he has nothing against the appointment of Sanpha Koroma and that he deserves to be appointed chancellor as he has excelled as a businessman but however, he should not use the Doctor (Dr) title in an academic setting (the University of Sierra Leone) because the IBC was (and still, is) not authorised to grant PhDs that are recognised as academic PhDs by the education sectors in all Commonwealth countries.

He added that the Chancellor is setting a bad example for others to follow within the University.

“It is neither a criminal offence nor is it a bad thing to be a “Mr” (Mister) and be appointed Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone. Examples of Chancellors with Mr titles include: Mr Lawrence Seldon Bacow is the President (equivalent to Chancellor) of Harvard University. Mr Robert Shenton French, chancellor of the University of Western Australia. Mr James Harris is the Chancellor of the University of New England (my alma mater)” he said.

He ended by stating; “Let us get it right for our country. Fixing the education sector comes with sacrifices—including having to let go of titles!!”