NUC Set To Clamp Down On Honorary Degree Mills, Warns Recipients Against Misuse Of “Doctor” Title

The National Universities Commission says it is moving to clamp down on what it describes as honorary degree mills operating across the country.

The announcement comes as the Commission warns recipients of such awards to stop parading themselves with the title “Doctor”, noting that honorary degrees do not confer academic status.

The NUC Executive Secretary made the declaration in Abuja while receiving the report of a special committee set up to investigate the growing abuse of honorary doctorate degrees in Nigeria.

He stressed that honorary degrees are intended to recognize exceptional service, but lamented that the awards are increasingly being misused—often for self-promotion and public deception.

According to the committee’s findings, 32 institutions, among several others, were discovered to be operating as unauthorized honorary degree–awarding bodies.

Committee Chairman, Professor Kabiru Bala, praised the NUC for the confidence reposed in the team and presented the detailed findings of the investigation.

The commission also clarified that it has developed a national guideline for the award and use of honorary doctorate degrees, which the Executive Secretary said will be published soon, will serve as the framework for its planned nationwide clampdown on institutions operating as honorary degree mills.