KEY POINTS

• The crackdown on honorary degree abuse follows a committee report. 
• Illegal institutions linked to honorary degree abuse were identified. 
• Payments tied to honorary degree abuse reached N50 million in some cases.
  

The Federal Government has taken action to address the increasing abuse of honorary doctorate titles inside Nigeria’s educational system. Authorities indicate that the expanding trend has raised alarms, particularly since many universities confer titles onto current political officeholders or function as degree mills that sell degrees for monetary compensation.

Honorary degree abuse fuels concerns

Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, presented the development in Abuja on Friday upon receiving the report from the Committee on the Misuse of Honorary Doctorate Degrees by Recipients in Nigeria. The Commission has observed an increase in unaccredited and illicit organizations masquerading as academic institutions, which are providing honorary doctorates for fees reaching up to N50 million.

Ribadu stated that numerous institutions had disregarded the Keffi Declaration of 2012, in which Vice-Chancellors consented to cease the practice of awarding honorary degrees to incumbent political office holders. He observed that 32 institutions have effectively transformed into factories for the issuance of honorary doctorate degrees, a circumstance he stated the Commission will no longer condone. He cautioned that any institution deemed accountable will incur sanctions and stated that the NUC intends to collaborate with the National Assembly to establish a legal framework that strengthens existing laws.

According to the Guardian, he stated that certain individuals remunerate universities with N20 million, N30 million, N40 million, or even N50 million to acquire honorary doctorate degrees, subsequently presenting themselves as academic physicians among scholars who have dedicated years to obtaining PhDs. Ribadu characterized the practice as deceptive, noting that recipients frequently neglect to specify that their titles are honorary, despite a warning in the Keffi Declaration advising them to reveal this distinction. 

Crackdown targets honorary degree abuse

The committee’s study revealed 32 organizations functioning as honorary degree mills. The list comprises 10 unaccredited foreign colleges, four unlicensed domestic universities, 15 professional organizations lacking degree-awarding authority, and three further institutions devoid of any degree-conferring authorities. Ribadu stated that certain groups confer fraudulent professorships, hence undermining public trust in the school system.

He stated that only legally accredited universities, regardless of whether public or private, possess the jurisdiction to confer honorary doctorate degrees. 

Prof. Kabiru Bala, the Chairman of the Committee, stated that hardly 27 of over 312 universities filed reports. The panel was established in September following the Commission’s receipt of multiple complaints from individuals and others regarding the increasing abuse of the titles.