The Federal Government has prohibited recipients of honorary degrees from prefixing their names with the title “Dr,” in a sweeping move aimed at curbing what it described as the growing abuse and commercialisation of academic honours in Nigeria.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, following a decision reached at the Federal Executive Council meeting held on April 30.
Alausa said the directive was part of broader efforts to restore integrity to the nation’s academic system, lamenting that honorary degrees had, over the years, been reduced to tools for political patronage and financial inducement.
According to him, the government observed an alarming trend where institutions confer such honours indiscriminately, including on serving public officials, in violation of established academic ethics.
“The recent trend in the award of honorary degrees has exposed serious abuse and politicisation of this academic privilege,” the minister said. “We have seen instances where these awards are used for political patronage and financial gain, which undermines their true value.”
He added that, going forward, recipients of honorary doctorates would no longer be allowed to attach the “Dr” title to their names, stressing that the designation is reserved strictly for individuals who have earned academic doctorates through rigorous study.
The minister also announced stricter regulatory measures for universities, warning that institutions that flout the directive would face sanctions.
As part of the new guidelines, universities are now required to obtain prior approval from the National Universities Commission before conferring honorary degrees.
Alausa further revealed that vice-chancellors across the country had been directed to review and tighten their processes for awarding honorary degrees in line with the new policy.
The government expressed optimism that the move would restore credibility to Nigeria’s higher education system and ensure that academic honours are conferred strictly on merit and in accordance with global best practices.
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