Nigerians who have received honorary doctorate degrees from Universities can no longer address themselves as "Dr.", following new guidelines introduced by the National Universities Commission that draw a clear line between earned academic qualifications and ceremonial honours.
The NUC announced the directive as part of a broader set of regulations aimed at curbing what it described as the abuse and indiscriminate conferment of honorary awards, a practice it said has eroded the distinction between genuine academic achievement and recognition given for other reasons.
Under the new rules, the title "Dr." is reserved exclusively for individuals who have completed a doctoral degree through academic study or are certified medical practitioners. Honorary degree recipients are instead required to use post nominal designations such as Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa), written as D.Sc (H.C), after their names.
The guidelines also restrict which Universities can confer honorary degrees, limiting the practice to Institutions that have already graduated their first set of PhD students. Newer Universities are therefore excluded from the process entirely until they meet that threshold.
To prevent the commercialisation of Honorary awards, the NUC has banned any form of financial inducement in their conferment, stipulating that such honours must be awarded solely on merit and at no cost to the recipient. Universities are also limited to a maximum of three honorary degrees per convocation ceremony, and self nominated candidates as well as serving elected or appointed public officials are barred from receiving them.
Institutions are required to publish the names of all honorary degree recipients on their official websites and must establish procedures for revoking honours from individuals later found guilty of misconduct. The NUC was explicit that honorary degrees confer no academic or professional privileges, including the right to supervise research, practise regulated professions or hold administrative positions in universities.
Institutions that fail to comply with the new guidelines face regulatory sanctions.
For students and academics who have spent years earning their qualifications, the NUC's intervention addresses a long standing grievance about the dilution of titles that doctoral graduates work extensively to obtain.
