Fed govt moves to curb abuse of honorary degrees, unveils enforcement framework
…Only universities with PhD programmes now eligible to confer honorary degrees …Recipients barred from using “Dr.” title in official, professional settings The Federal Government has approved a uniform policy to
...Only universities with PhD programmes now eligible to confer honorary degrees
...Recipients barred from using “Dr.” title in official, professional settings
The Federal Government has approved a uniform policy to regulate the conferment and use of honorary degrees by Nigerian universities, warning that institutions and recipients who violate the new guidelines would face sanctions.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing journalists at State House, Abuja, on approvals received by his ministry from last week's Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, which was presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Alausa said the policy was introduced to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s academic system, restore public confidence in university honours and halt what he described as the growing abuse, politicisation and commercialisation of honorary degrees.
He expressed concern over what he called the indiscriminate award of honorary doctorates by some universities, including to serving public officials, noting that several recipients subsequently adopt the title “Doctor” in official and professional settings despite not earning academic qualifications.
Under the new policy, honorary degrees must now be clearly designated as “honorary” or “honoris causa” on certificates and in all references.
The minister also stated that recipients would no longer be permitted to prefix “Dr.” to their names in official academic or professional correspondence due to honorary awards.
“Recipients are expected to acknowledge the degree as an award or recognition and not as a formal academic qualification,” Alausa said.
He warned that any attempt to present honorary degrees as earned academic credentials would constitute academic fraud and could attract legal and reputational consequences.
According to him, only universities with established doctoral programmes and recognised PhD-awarding curricula would henceforth be eligible to confer honorary degrees.
He described the practice of newly established institutions without doctoral programmes awarding honorary doctorates as a “misnomer” that undermines academic standards.
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Alausa explained that the policy was designed to strengthen the implementation of the Keffi Declaration, a framework earlier developed by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities to address abuse in the award of honorary degrees.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Education, through the National Universities Commission (NUC), would issue detailed circulars to vice-chancellors, registrars and governing councils on the new policy.
The minister said the government would also monitor convocation ceremonies and publish annual lists of legitimate honorary degree recipients to ensure transparency and compliance.
“We will collaborate with the media to discourage the improper attribution of academic titles to people who were awarded honorary degrees,” he said.
He stressed that universities found violating the policy would be sanctioned under an enforcement framework to be developed by the NUC.
Responding to journalists' questions about whether the policy could infringe on university autonomy, Alausa insisted that institutional independence does not permit violations of established regulations.
“Autonomy does not equate to the right to break the law in this country,” he said.
On the media's role in enforcing compliance, the minister said journalists would play a key role in exposing the misuse of honorary titles and discouraging false academic claims.
“If I turn around and say I’m Dr. Alausa because a university gave me an honorary degree, the media should call it out,” he said.
He clarified, however, that the policy was not aimed at restricting informal or social usage of honorary titles, but rather at preventing misrepresentation in official and professional settings.
Also speaking, Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Ahmad, said the Keffi Declaration was originally formulated by vice-chancellors as a self-regulatory framework for honorary degree awards but lacked statutory backing.
She noted that the latest federal approval had now given the declaration the necessary legal and institutional authority for effective implementation.
