The National Universities Commission (NUC) has issued a stern warning to universities across Nigeria against the inappropriate conferment of honorary doctorate degrees, saying such awards must reflect genuine merit rather than be granted for trivial reasons.
In a statement on Thursday, the NUC said it has updated regulatory guidelines to govern how institutions award these degrees, stressing that universities have a responsibility to uphold academic integrity and preserve the prestige associated with honorary titles.
According to the commission, honorary doctorates should be conferred only on individuals who have made distinct and exceptional contributions to society, scholarship, arts, culture, human endeavour or national development.
NUC Executive Secretary Prof. Abubakar Rasheed said the updated guidelines are designed to tackle growing concerns that some universities were misusing honorary degrees sometimes to curry favour, attract donors or generate publicity thereby diminishing their value.
“The conferment of honorary degrees should reflect high standards,” Prof. Rasheed said. “They are not mere ceremonial tokens to be handed out casually.”
Among the key directives, the NUC has instructed institutions to:
- Establish clear, documented criteria for selecting recipients.
- Ensure decisions are made by properly constituted academic bodies, such as senates.
- Avoid awarding degrees to sitting politicians or public officers in ways that could be misconstrued as partisan.
- Publicise the rationale behind each conferment to promote transparency.
The commission also reminded universities that failure to comply with the new guidelines could attract sanctions, including withdrawal of approval to award honorary degrees.
The updated policy follows longstanding debates within academia and civil society about the erosion of academic standards and the need for accountability in higher education.
NUC said it will monitor compliance closely and urged institutions to align their practices with the revised framework to protect the credibility of Nigerian universities.
At the time of publication, there was no immediate public response from any university authority regarding the new directives.
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