The Nigerian Federal Government on Wednesday announced a ban on honorary degree holders prefixing “Dr” to their names in official, academic, or professional usage.

The government also established the National Research and Development Fund, with an annual allocation of $500 million.

These decisions were disclosed by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, while briefing State House correspondents on the two memoranda he presented to the Federal Executive Council, FEC, at its meeting last Thursday, which were approved.

He said the FEC approved a uniform policy for the award and use of honorary degrees by Nigerian universities.

Alausa, who was flanked by the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, said the use of “Dr.” by people who do not merit it is an abuse of the doctorate degree.

He said the use of the title by such recipients constitutes a misrepresentation of academic credentials that would henceforth be treated as academic fraud, with attendant legal and reputational consequences.

The policy, he explained, is designed to end what he described as decades of indiscriminate conferment of the degrees for political patronage and financial gain, and to restore public confidence in the integrity of academic titles.

He said: “The recent trend we’ve seen with the award of honorary degrees has revealed a growing abuse and politicisation of this academic privilege.

“We’ve seen awards being used for political patronage, for financial gain, as well as the conferment of awards on serving public officials, which, as part of the ethics of honorary degree awards, should not happen.”

Under the new policy, recipients of honorary degrees may no longer prefix “Dr” to their names.