Abuja, NIGERIA – The Federal Government has officially prohibited recipients of honorary degrees from using the title “Dr” before their names. The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the directive during a media briefing at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday, following a decision reached at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on April 30.
The move is designed to curb the “indiscriminate conferment” of academic honors for political patronage and financial gain. Minister Alausa noted that the academic privilege had been increasingly abused, with awards being granted to serving public officials—a practice that contradicts standard academic ethics.
Okay News reports that universities must now obtain explicit approval from the National Universities Commission (NUC) before conferring any honorary degrees, with strict sanctions promised for institutions that violate these new guidelines.
