The National Universities Commission (NUC) has raised alarm over what it called the growing abuse of honorary doctorate degrees across Nigerian universities.
This concern was made public by the Commission’s Executive Secretary, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, while receiving the report of an inquiry into the “awards and public misuse of Honorary Doctorate degree” in Abuja.
“In response to this disturbing trend, an investigation was carried out by the NUC to examine how these degrees are awarded and used across Nigeria. The findings are deeply concerning,” he said.
He disclosed that 61 institutions and organisations have been implicated in the indiscriminate issuance of such awards nationwide.
According to him, “The report of the investigation identified 32 institutions operating as honorary doctorate degree mills, including 10 unaccredited foreign universities, 4 unlicensed local universities, 15 professional bodies with no degree-awarding powers and 3 other non-degree awarding institutions. It’s even more alarming that some of these institutions go as far as awarding fake professorships,” he said.
Ribadu stressed that conferring honorary degrees remains a statutory mandate strictly assigned to Nigerian universities, adding that the Education Act authorises the NUC to supervise the award and usage of such honours. He noted, “Hence, the Commission is determined to guide the proper use of honorary degrees, regulate their awards as well as protect the sanctity of our university educational system,” he said.
He also cautioned recipients against adopting the title “Dr” as part of their personal identification. “The recipients of the awards are at liberty to use the nomenclature such as Doctor of Literature but must refrain from using the title ‘Dr’ which is the designation of PhD holders and medical personnel. Additionally, they are not permitted to use the honorary doctorate degree to practice as scholars or professionals, supervise research or oversee administrative units,” he said.
