BY JAMES UDOH—The National Universities Commission (NUC) has introduced fresh regulations governing how honorary degrees are granted in Nigerian universities, including a prohibition on awardees adopting the “Dr.” prefix.
According to the commission, this step is intended to address the excessive and careless distribution of such honors while safeguarding the credibility of academic titles. Under the updated policy, only institutions that have successfully produced their first batch of PhD graduates are permitted to award honorary degrees.
The NUC clarified that individuals who receive honorary doctorates are not allowed to place “Dr.” before their names. Instead, they should indicate the honor after their names using proper titles, such as Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) – D.Sc (H.C). It emphasized that the “Dr.” designation is reserved exclusively for those who have earned doctoral qualifications or are certified medical practitioners.
Additionally, the new directives forbid any monetary demands or expectations from recipients, stressing that such honors must be granted purely on merit and without cost.
To ensure stricter oversight, universities are now restricted to awarding no more than three honorary degrees during each convocation ceremony.
