On Wednesday, the Federal Government through the Ministry of Education barred recipients of honorary degrees from using the title “Dr” as a prefix to their names in official, academic, or professional settings, declaring such usage a misrepresentation that will now be treated as academic fraud.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, made this announcement at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, while briefing State House correspondents on recent approvals by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
Alausa, who appeared alongside the Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Ahmad, said the council approved a uniform policy regulating the award and usage of honorary degrees by Nigerian universities.
He said the move aims to curb abuse and restore the credibility of academic honours.
“The recent trend we’ve seen with the award of honorary degrees has revealed a growing abuse and politicisation of this academic privilege.
“We’ve seen awards being used for political patronage, for financial gain, as well as the conferral of awards on serving public officials, which, as part of the ethics of honorary degree awards, should not happen,” Alausa said.
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Under the new guidelines, beneficiaries of honorary degrees are prohibited from using “Dr” before their names. Instead, they are required to indicate the honorary nature of the award after their names.
“For instance, you can use Chief Louis Clark, D.Lit. (Doctor of Literature, Honoris Causa) or Mrs Miriam Adamu, LL.D. Hons,” the minister explained.
“Recipients shall not prefix doctor to their names in official, academic or professional usage,” he added. “Misrepresentation of honorary degrees as earned academic credentials shall be considered academic fraud and subject to legal and reputational consequences.”
The policy also limits honorary degrees to four recognised categories: Doctor of Laws (LL.D), Doctor of Letters (D.Lit), Doctor of Science (D.Sc), and Doctor of Humanities (D.Arts).
In addition, universities without active PhD programmes are now barred from conferring honorary degrees.
Alausa said the restriction targets newer institutions that award honorary doctorates despite lacking postgraduate research capacity.
He further directed that all honorary awards must clearly include the terms “honorary” or “Honoris Causa” on certificates and in all official references.
The minister noted that previous attempts by academic bodies to regulate honorary degrees lacked enforcement power.
“The association doesn’t have any legal backing to enforce anything.
“That is why we brought this to the Federal Executive Council, which now gives it legal and executive backing,” he said.
The Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission will issue implementation guidelines to universities, while compliance will be monitored, including during convocation ceremonies.
Alausa added that the government would publish an annual list of legitimate honorary degree recipients and work with the media to discourage misuse of academic titles.
The move comes amid longstanding concerns over the commercialisation and politicisation of honorary degrees in Nigeria’s higher education system.
