Yemi Obafemi
The Federal Government has approved comprehensive guidelines regulating the award and use of honorary doctorate degrees in Nigerian universities.
The disclosure was made by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, through a statement issued on Sunday by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Education, Mrs. Folasade Boriowo.
According to the minister, the guidelines were developed by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and approved by the Federal Executive Council to address growing concerns over the abuse, commercialization and misuse of honorary academic awards.
“The policy addresses concerns over abuse, commercialization, and misuse of honorary awards,” Alausa stated.
Under the new framework, only universities that have 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 awards per convocation ceremony.
The government further directed that all honorary doctorate degrees must carry the designation “Honoris Causa,” while recipients are expressly prohibited from using the title “Dr.” on the strength of such awards.
The policy also introduces stricter oversight measures, including the establishment of a Special Fraud Unit under the NUC to monitor compliance and investigate violations.
Universities are required to publicly disclose the names of honorary degree recipients, provide proper orientation to awardees and implement procedures for revoking awards where necessary.
