The Federal Government has approved a uniform policy regulating the conferment and use of honorary degrees by Nigerian universities, declaring that recipients of such awards can no longer use the title “Doctor” in official or professional settings.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing journalists at the State House in Abuja on approvals granted to the ministry during last week’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu.
Alausa said the new policy was introduced to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s academic system and curb what he described as the growing abuse, politicisation and commercialisation of honorary doctorate awards.
He expressed concern over the indiscriminate conferment of honorary degrees by some universities, including the practice of awarding them to serving public officials who subsequently adopt the “Dr.” title despite not possessing earned doctoral qualifications.
Under the new regulation, honorary degrees must now be clearly marked as “honorary” or “honoris causa” on certificates and in all official references.
“Recipients are expected to acknowledge the degree as an award or recognition and not as a formal academic qualification,” the minister said.
He warned that presenting honorary degrees as earned academic credentials would amount to academic fraud and could attract legal and reputational consequences.
Alausa further announced that only universities with established doctoral programmes and recognised PhD-awarding curricula would henceforth be allowed to confer honorary degrees.
According to him, the practice of newly established institutions without doctoral programmes awarding honorary doctorates undermines academic standards and devalues the credibility of university honours.
The minister explained that the policy strengthens the implementation of the Keffi Declaration, a framework developed by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities to address the abuse of honorary awards.
He said the Federal Ministry of Education, through the National Universities Commission (NUC), would issue detailed guidelines to vice-chancellors, registrars and governing councils to ensure compliance.
The government, he added, would monitor convocation ceremonies and publish annual lists of legitimate honorary degree recipients to improve transparency and accountability across the university system.
“We will collaborate with the media to discourage the improper attribution of academic titles to people who were awarded honorary degrees,” he said.
Alausa stressed that universities found violating the policy would face sanctions under an enforcement framework to be developed by the NUC.
Responding to concerns about university autonomy, the minister maintained that institutional independence does not permit disregard for national regulations.
“Autonomy does not equate to the right to break the law in this country,” he stated.
He also clarified that the policy was not intended to restrict informal or social references to honorary titles, but to prevent their misuse in official, academic and professional contexts.
Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, who also addressed journalists, explained that the Keffi Declaration had previously existed as a voluntary self-regulatory framework among vice-chancellors but lacked legal backing.
She noted that the latest FEC approval had now provided the necessary statutory authority for effective enforcement nationwide.