The Federal Government has approved new guidelines governing the award and use of honorary doctorate degrees in Nigerian universities, in a sweeping reform aimed at curbing abuse, commercialisation, and reputational damage to the country’s academic system.
The policy, endorsed by the Federal Executive Council and developed by the National Universities Commission (NUC), was announced in a statement on Wednesday by the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo.
Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Alausa, said the reform was necessary to restore credibility and ensure that honorary academic awards retain their symbolic and scholarly value.
Under the new framework, only universities that have successfully graduated their first set of PhD candidates will be eligible to confer honorary doctorates.
The policy also restricts institutions to a maximum of three honorary awards per convocation ceremony, a move designed to discourage indiscriminate awarding.
In a further tightening of standards, the guidelines mandate that all honorary doctorates must be clearly designated as “Honoris Causa”. Recipients are also barred from adopting or using the title “Dr” solely on the basis of such awards.
“Universities are required to publish recipients’ names, provide orientation to awardees, and implement revocation procedures where necessary,” the statement added.
To ensure enforcement, the Federal Government has also introduced a monitoring mechanism under the NUC. The oversight unit will supervise compliance and ensure that institutions adhere strictly to the new standards.