The federal government has approved new guidelines regulating the award and use of honorary doctorate degrees in Nigerian universities as part of efforts to restore the credibility of academic honours and curb their abuse.
In a statement dated June 10, the Federal Ministry of Education said the policy was approved following recommendations by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and endorsement by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The ministry said the guidelines were developed in response to growing concerns over the commercialisation, misuse and declining prestige of honorary doctorate awards in the country.
According to the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, the new framework establishes clear standards for the nomination, approval, conferment, use and revocation of honorary doctorate degrees across Nigerian universities.
Under the guidelines, only approved public and private universities will be eligible to award honorary doctorate degrees. In addition, only institutions that have graduated their first set of PhD students can confer such honours.
ONLY EXCEPTIONAL INDIVIDUALS SHOULD BE GIVEN AN HONORARY DEGREE
The government said honorary doctorates should be reserved for individuals with exceptional and sustained contributions to society and should reflect institutional values and diversity.
The policy also bars self-nominations and prohibits serving elected or appointed public officials from receiving honorary doctorate degrees.
“All nominations shall be forwarded to the NUC for clearance in collaboration with the Special Fraud Unit established at the NUC before conferment,” the statement reads.
The guidelines further provide that all nominations must be processed through statutory university committees and approved by both the university senate and governing council.
To prevent excessive conferment of awards, universities are restricted to a maximum of three honorary doctorate recipients per convocation ceremony.
The government also directed that honorary doctorate degrees must carry the designation Honoris Causa, such as Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) or Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa).
Recipients are prohibited from using the title “Dr.” on the basis of honorary awards and cannot use such degrees to practise as academics, professionals, supervise research or occupy administrative academic positions.
The policy requires universities to publish the names of honorary doctorate recipients on their official websites to promote transparency.
REVOCATION
It also introduces a revocation mechanism, allowing universities to withdraw honorary degrees from recipients convicted of fraud or found guilty of conduct inconsistent with the values of the awarding institution.
To enforce compliance, the government announced sanctions for defaulting universities, including suspension of resource verification for up to two years, denial of programme accreditation for three academic sessions and recommendations for the dissolution of governing councils where necessary.
The ministry said the NUC would monitor implementation of the guidelines nationwide and take regulatory action against institutions that violate the provisions.
“The Federal Government emphasizes that honorary doctorate degrees must remain symbols of excellence, integrity, distinguished service and meaningful societal impact,” the statement said.
The ministry added that the reforms are aimed at strengthening the quality, transparency and international reputation of Nigeria’s university system.
