President Bola Tinubu has issued a stern warning to Nigerian universities against indiscriminate award of honorary Doctorate Degrees.
The President gave the warning at the combined convocation ceremonies for the 6th, 7th, and 8th graduates of the students of Federal University of Lafia (FULafia), in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital on Saturday.
According to him, indiscriminate award of honorary doctorate degrees is an act of sabotage which undermines the core values of academic integrity and must be discontinued.
Tinubu, who was represented by the Acting Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission, Chris Jibreel-Maiyaki, explained that the honorary degrees should be given to only deserving Nigerians who have contributed immensely to the growth of society.
According to the President, academic competence and professional training represents just a fraction of the qualifications needed to build a strong and prosperous nation.
“Moral training and ethical standards must be coupled with the best form of academic development for universities to fulfill its purpose.
“Therefore, universities management and the general environments of teaching and learning must model the highest standard of integrity, probity and moral discipline.
“In this connection, I must draw your attention to the tendency of some institutions to devalue the quality of their degrees by given out honorary Doctorate Degrees indiscriminately against the common universities community practice,” he said.
Tinubu also pledged to always respond positively to needs of universities and its communities in order to reposition things for better outputs.
He also promised to do everything possible to address the infrastructural deficit in Nigerian universities and other tertiary institutions in the country.
