ABUJA, Nigeria — The Federal Government has banned recipients of honorary degrees from using the prefix “Dr” before their names, declaring that doing so will now be treated as academic fraud.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the decision on Wednesday following a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting. He stated that the move is designed to curb the “indiscriminate conferral” of titles for political patronage or financial gain and to restore the integrity of earned academic credentials.
End of the ‘Doctor’ Prefix
Under the new uniform policy, those awarded honorary doctorates must no longer use the title in official, academic, or professional settings. Instead, they are required to list the full designation after their names to indicate the award is honorary.
“Recipients shall not prefix doctor to their names,” Mr Alausa said. He provided examples of the new approved format:
- Correct: Chief Louis Clark, D.Lit. (Honoris Causa)
- Incorrect: Dr Louis Clark
The Minister warned that misrepresenting an honorary award as an earned PhD would carry “legal and reputational consequences.”
Strict New Rules for Universities
The policy introduces several restrictions to prevent the commercialisation of academic honours:
- Eligible Institutions: Only universities with active, functional PhD-awarding programmes can confer honorary degrees. Institutions less than five years old are barred from the practice.
- Approved Titles: Honorary degrees are restricted to four categories: Doctor of Laws (LL.D), Letters (D.Lit), Science (D.Sc), and Humanities (D.Arts).
- Public Officials: The policy prohibits the conferral of these awards on serving public officials, a practice the Minister described as a breach of academic ethics.
Enforcement and Monitoring
To ensure compliance, the National Universities Commission (NUC) will issue a circular to all vice-chancellors and governing councils. The government also plans to monitor university convocation programmes and collaborate with the media to discourage the improper use of titles.
Mr Alausa noted that while a similar attempt was made by vice-chancellors in 2012, it lacked the “legal and executive backing” now provided by the FEC. The Ministry of Education will now publish an annual list of legitimate honorary recipients to protect the value of earned academic qualifications.
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