New Guidelines Set to Sanitize Honorary Doctorate Awards in Nigeria

In a bid to restore the integrity of the nation's university system, the Federal Government has given its seal of approval to a comprehensive set of guidelines aimed at regulating the award and use of honorary doctorates. This move is part of a broader effort to tackle the growing concerns over the abuse, commercialisation, and misuse of these honorary academic awards. The announcement was made public through a statement issued by the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo. According to the statement, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, underscored the importance of these guidelines in strengthening academic integrity, transparency, and the credibility of the university system. The guidelines, which were developed by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and subsequently approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), introduce strict rules governing eligibility, nomination, conferment, usage, and revocation of honorary doctoral degrees awarded by Nigerian universities. One of the key provisions of the guidelines is that only universities that have successfully graduated their first set of Doctor of Philosophy students will be eligible to confer honorary doctoral degrees. Furthermore, institutions are restricted to awarding a maximum of three honorary doctorates during each convocation ceremony. The minister also disclosed that all honorary doctorates must bear the designation ‘Honoris Causa’ and that recipients would no longer be allowed to use the title ‘Dr’ solely based on receiving an honorary award. To ensure compliance with the new regulations, the government has established oversight mechanisms, including the creation of a Special Fraud Unit under the NUC to monitor adherence to the guidelines. Universities are required to publicly disclose the names of honorary degree recipients, organise orientation programmes for awardees, and establish procedures for the revocation of awards where necessary. The minister warned that institutions that fail to comply with the guidelines would face sanctions, including the suspension of accreditation activities and the dissolution of governing councils. This development follows efforts by the NUC to curb the misuse and indiscriminate conferment of honorary doctorate degrees within the university system. The NUC had introduced the guidelines regulating the award and use of honorary doctorates, citing concerns over growing abuse of the honours and the activities of institutions and organisations without legal authority to confer them. The commission noted that the guidelines were designed to protect academic standards, strengthen transparency, and preserve the credibility of universities.