The Federal Government has banned recipients of honorary degrees from prefixing “Dr” to their names in official, academic, or professional usage.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this during a media briefing at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said the decision was approved at the Federal Executive Council meeting held on April 30.
According to him, the move is aimed at addressing the growing misuse and politicisation of honorary degrees, which are increasingly being awarded for patronage and financial influence.
“The recent trend we’ve seen with the award of honorary degrees has revealed a growing ab¥se 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.”
He added that institutions that violate the directive will face sanctions, while Vice Chancellors have been instructed to regulate and standardise the award process.
Alausa further stated that universities will now be required to obtain approval from the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) before conferring honorary degrees.
