FG BANS HONORARY DEGREE HOLDERS FROM USING DR TITLE
The Federal Government has stopped recipients of honorary degrees from using the title Dr in official and professional settings. The policy is aimed at protecting the credibility of academic titles.
Legitdan news report that the Federal Government has announced a ban on the use of the title Dr by recipients of honorary degrees in official, academic, or professional contexts.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this in Abuja while briefing State House correspondents after Federal Executive Council approvals. He explained that the policy is meant to regulate honorary degrees in Nigerian universities and prevent abuse linked to political patronage, financial inducement, and reputational gain.
Under the new policy, honorary degree holders can no longer place Dr before their names. Instead, they may indicate the award after their names using formats such as D Lit Honoris Causa or LL D Honoris Causa to clearly distinguish them from earned academic qualifications.
The minister stated that any misrepresentation of honorary awards as earned academic credentials will attract legal and reputational consequences.
The policy also limits honorary awards to four categories, which are Doctor of Laws, Doctor of Letters, Doctor of Science, and Doctor of Humanities. Universities without active PhD programmes are prohibited from conferring honorary degrees.
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