The Federal Government has introduced new regulations governing the award and use of honorary doctorate degrees, including a prohibition on recipients adopting the title “Dr” after receiving such honours.
The policy, approved by the Federal Executive Council on the recommendation of the National Universities Commission (NUC), seeks to strengthen academic standards and address concerns about the misuse of honorary degrees in Nigeria.
Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, explained that the measure is designed to ensure greater integrity in the conferral of honorary degrees and to prevent confusion between honorary recipients and those who earn doctoral qualifications through academic research and study.
Under the new guidelines, only universities that have produced their first set of PhD graduates will be eligible to confer honorary doctorate degrees. The government also limited the number of honorary awards to three per convocation.
The ministry said all honorary doctorate degrees must carry the designation “Honoris Causa” to clearly distinguish them from earned academic qualifications.
The new framework also states that recipients of honorary doctorates are not allowed to use the title “Dr” on the basis of the award.
According to the ministry, the guidelines cover the nomination, approval, conferment and possible withdrawal of honorary degrees.
The government also directed universities to make public the names of recipients and provide orientation for awardees on the proper use of the honour.
To monitor compliance, the NUC will oversee implementation of the policy and enforce sanctions where necessary.
The Federal Government warned that institutions that fail to comply with the guidelines could face penalties, including the suspension of accreditation activities and the dissolution of governing councils.
