The Federal Government has barred recipients of honorary degrees from using the “Dr” title, declaring that any such practice will now be treated as academic fraud.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the directive on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja following approval by the Federal Executive Council.
He said the decision was taken to curb the growing abuse and politicisation of honorary awards, which he noted had increasingly been used for political patronage and financial gain.
“The recent trend we’ve seen with the award of honorary degrees has revealed a growing abuse and politicisation of this academic privilege,” the minister said.
Under the new policy, recipients are prohibited from prefixing “Dr” to their names in any official, academic or professional setting. Instead, they are required to use the full honorary designation after their names.
Alausa warned that misrepresenting honorary degrees as earned academic qualifications would attract legal and reputational consequences.
“Recipients shall not prefix doctor to their names in official, academic or professional usage. Misrepresentation of honorary degrees as earned academic credentials shall be considered academic fraud,” he stated.
The directive also limits the categories of honorary degrees Nigerian universities can confer to four: 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 have been barred from awarding honorary degrees, a move aimed at addressing the proliferation of such honours by newer institutions.
The minister added that all honorary degrees must clearly indicate their status as “honorary” or “Honoris Causa,” while the Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission will oversee enforcement and monitor compliance during convocation ceremonies.
He further disclosed that the government would publish an annual list of legitimate recipients as part of efforts to protect the integrity of academic qualifications in Nigeria.
