The Federal Government has introduced sweeping reforms to regulate the award and use of honorary degrees in Nigerian universities, in a move aimed at restoring credibility to the country’s academic honours system.
The development was contained in a statement from the Federal Ministry of Education issued after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja and signed by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Mrs. Boriowo Folasade.
Under the new policy framework, honorary degrees must be clearly identified as honoris causa and will no longer be regarded as earned academic qualifications. The government also ruled that recipients are not permitted to adopt the title “Dr” in official, academic, or professional settings on the basis of such awards, with any violation to be treated as academic fraud.
The policy further states that honorary degrees will not serve as a basis for academic appointments, professional certification, or regulated practice in any sector. It also limits recognition to only four approved categories of honorary degrees, to be awarded strictly by universities with established doctoral programmes.
To ensure compliance, the National Universities Commission has been assigned the responsibility of monitoring implementation and maintaining a national register of verified honorary degree recipients, which will be published annually.