The federal government has approved a policy prohibiting recipients of honorary degrees from using the “Dr” title.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) accepted the decision, which establishes a new regulatory framework with penalties for noncompliance that governs the awarding and use of honorary degrees by postsecondary institutions.
Tunji Alausa said on Wednesday in Abuja that the policy was necessary due to concerns over the growing abuse and politicisation of honorary doctorates.
According to Alausa, the change aims to address the increasing misuse and monetisation of honorary degrees, protect academic integrity, and rebuild public trust in university awards.
According to him, the government has noticed a “troubling trend” in which certain colleges award honorary doctorates to anyone, even public servants, and some of the winners go on to use the title “Doctor” in official and public contexts.
The minister added that presenting honorary degrees as academic qualifications would amount to academic fraud and could carry legal and reputational consequences.
He also said only universities with established PhD-awarding programmes would be allowed to confer honorary degrees, describing the practice by newer institutions without doctoral programmes as a “misnomer.”
He further added that the policy strengthens the Keffi Declaration developed by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities to curb abuse in the award of honorary degrees.
BACKSTORY…
Nigeria’s decision to halt the establishment of new tertiary institutions has triggered a fresh round of debate among education stakeholders, with critics arguing that the policy may be addressing the wrong problem at the wrong time.
While the Federal Government insists the move is necessary to stabilise a struggling system, analysts say the moratorium reflects deeper structural misalignment within the country’s higher education strategy.
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