The Federal Government of Nigeria has implemented a significant policy shift, banning recipients of honorary degrees from prefixing “Dr” to their names in official, academic, or professional usage. This landmark decision, announced by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, at a media briefing at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday, follows a resolution made at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held on April 30.

Minister Alausa emphasized that the primary objective of this new policy is to curb the widespread abuse and politicization of academic privileges associated with honorary degrees. For decades, the indiscriminate conferment of these degrees has been used for political patronage, financial gain, and even awarded to serving public officials—practices deemed unethical within the established standards for honorary degree awards. The government aims to restore integrity to academic titles and standardize the award and use of honorary degrees across Nigerian universities.

Under the revised regulations, recipients of honorary degrees are strictly prohibited from using “Dr” as a prefix. Instead, they must clearly indicate the honorary nature of the award after their names. Alausa provided examples of the approved format, such as “Chief Louis Clark, D.Lit. (Doctor of Literature, Honoris Causa)” or “Mrs Miriam Adamu, LL.D. Hons.” This distinction is crucial to clearly separate honorary awards from earned academic qualifications. Misrepresenting honorary degrees as earned academic credentials will now be classified as academic fraud, carrying potential legal and reputational consequences.

Furthermore, the new policy introduces stringent restrictions on the types of honorary degrees that can be conferred. Universities are now limited to awarding honorary degrees in only four categories: Doctor of Laws (LL.D), Doctor of Letters (D.Lit), Doctor of Science (D.Sc), and Doctor of Humanities (D.Arts). In a move designed to enhance academic rigor, the government has also barred universities that do not have active PhD-awarding programs from conferring any honorary degrees, addressing concerns about institutions lacking sufficient research capacity to grant such distinctions.

To ensure transparency and prevent ambiguity, all honorary degrees must explicitly carry the terms “honorary” or “Honoris Causa” on their certificates and in all official references. The Minister highlighted that concerns over the commercialization and politicization of honorary degrees have long plagued Nigeria’s education sector, with universities frequently accused of exchanging these honors for financial or political favors. Previous attempts to regulate the practice, such as the 2012 Keffi Declaration by the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, lacked legal backing for enforcement.

The Federal Executive Council’s decision now provides the necessary legal and executive authority to enforce these regulations. Universities found in violation of the FEC decision will face sanctions. Vice Chancellors across the nation have been directed to streamline their processes for awarding honorary degrees, and moving forward, universities will be required to seek approval from the Nigerian University Commission (NUC) before any such degrees can be conferred.