President Tinubu Speak On Indiscriminate Issuance Of Certificates By Varsities

President Bola Tinubu has spoken against Indiscriminate award of honorary doctorate degrees by universities in Nigeria.

The President was speaking at the 6th, 7th, and 8th graduates of the Federal University of Lafia held at the University convocation hall, on Saturday in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

Represented by Mr Chris Jbreel-Maiyaki, Acting Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC), the President said degrees were being awarded for candidates found worthy in character and learning.

He said that academic competence and professional training represent 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 added.

The President said the habit of those given award of degrees indiscriminately is a sabotage which undermines the very core of academic integrity and must be discontinued.

He explained that honorary degrees should be given to only deserving Nigerians who have contributed immensely to the development of the society.

President Tinubu has also promised to always respond positivity to needs of universities and its communities in order to reposition things for better outputs.

He, therefore, promised to do everything possible to tackle the infrastructural deficit in Nigerian universities and other tertiary institutions in the country.

In his goodwill message, Gov. Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State commended the management of the institution for putting in effort to train students for four and five years as the case may be.

Gov. Sule also promised to train all the 50 First Class graduates of FULafia from the three sets in different entrepreneur skills and give each of them N500, 000 at the end of the one month training.

Sule promised to continue to support the university to enable it achieve its mandate of training the manpower needed for the development of the country.

Earlier, Prof. Shehu Abdul-Rahman, Vice Chancellor (VC) of the university said the convocation was the first in his third year as VC of the institution.

He explained that convocation ceremonies is where those who had received instructions from senior scholars and had passed prescribed examination are adjudged worthy in learning and character to receive their degrees and is part of the tradition of all universities in the world.