The Federal Government has approved a comprehensive set of guidelines governing the award and use of honorary doctorate degrees in Nigerian universities, including a prohibition on recipients using the title “Dr.” based solely on honorary awards.
The new policy, announced by the Federal Ministry of Education, is aimed at restoring credibility to Nigeria’s university system and addressing concerns over the abuse, commercialization and misuse of honorary doctorate degrees.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, said the guidelines were developed by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and subsequently approved by the Federal Executive Council.
According to the minister, the framework establishes clear rules covering eligibility, nomination, approval, conferment, usage and revocation of honorary doctorate degrees across the country’s university system.
A key provision of the policy stipulates that recipients of honorary doctorates must not use the title “Dr.” as a prefix to their names. Instead, all honorary degrees must carry the designation “Honoris Causa” to distinguish them from earned academic doctorates.
The government said the measure is intended to preserve the integrity of academic qualifications and eliminate confusion between honorary awards and academic degrees obtained through formal study and research.
New Regulations
Under the new regulations, only universities that have successfully graduated their first set of PhD students will be eligible to confer honorary doctorate degrees.
The guidelines also limit institutions to a maximum of three honorary doctorate awards per convocation ceremony, a move designed to curb excessive and indiscriminate conferment of such honours.
To enhance transparency, universities will be required to publicly disclose the names of honorary degree recipients and provide orientation programmes outlining the rights, limitations and responsibilities attached to the awards.
The policy further establishes mechanisms for withdrawing honorary degrees where recipients engage in conduct deemed inconsistent with the values and standards of the awarding institution.
As part of enforcement measures, the NUC will establish a Special Fraud Unit to monitor compliance and investigate cases involving abuse of honorary awards.
The Federal Government warned that institutions found violating the guidelines could face sanctions, including suspension of accreditation activities and the dissolution of governing councils.
The government said the new framework is expected to strengthen academic integrity, improve accountability and restore public confidence in Nigeria’s higher education system.
