By Patience Lunda:
National Council for Higher Education (Nche) has ordered recipients of honorary doctorate degrees to stop addressing themselves as ‘doctor’.
It says it has made the decision after noting the manner in which individuals are conferred honorary degrees by both local and foreign higher education institutions or entities.
Nche Chairperson Estone Sambo said, in a statement released yesterday, that honorary degrees shall only be awarded by accredited higher education institutions whose accreditation status is recognised by the council.
Sambo said such degrees shall be conferred upon individuals as special recognition and shall not be constructed as academic qualifications.
He then appealed to stakeholders to help in promoting ethical and legitimate practices in higher education.
“Honorary doctorate degrees do not require a programme of study with defined learning outcomes, approved learning programme and set assessment protocols for issuance of honorary doctorate degrees. Such degrees cannot be designated as qualifications but as honours.
“Honorary degrees are ceremonial awards and are conferred after assessing the impact and significance of the contributions an individual has made in various spheres of life,” the statement reads.
Meanwhile, Civil Society Education Coalition Executive Director Benedicto Kondowe has welcomed the decision.
He also called for the expedition of the National Qualifications Bill to establish a clear legal framework for regulating academic qualifications.
“We fully support this directive, though it comes late,” he said.
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