BREAKING: NUC Issues New Guidelines on Honorary Doctorate Awards

The National Universities Commission (NUC) has released fresh guidelines regulating the award and use of honorary doctorate degrees in Nigeria.

In a public notice issued Thursday, the Commission cited the growing incidence of indiscriminate conferment and misuse of honorary degrees within the Nigerian University System as the reason for the new framework.

The Executive Secretary of the NUC, Prof. Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, said the guidelines were approved in line with the Education Act and resolutions of the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, including the 2012 Keffi Declaration.

Under the new rules, only approved universities that have graduated at least one set of PhD students can confer honorary doctorates. Institutions are limited to a maximum of three awards per convocation, and no fees must be charged.

The NUC also barred recipients from using the title “Dr.”, stressing that honorary degrees are non-earned distinctions and not equivalent to academic or medical doctorates.

The Commission warned that sanctions would be imposed on institutions that violate the guidelines, following an investigation that uncovered 32 entities operating as honorary degree mills.