HARARE – Honorary PhD degrees dished out to rich and politically connected individuals by the Harare-based International Institute of Philanthropy (IIP) “are not recognised in Zimbabwe” and recipients should never be referred to as Dr, the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE) said Friday.
ZIMCHE’s intervention came after the latest round of people awarded the sham degrees by IIP for “philanthropy”, including singer Mudiwa Hood, Geo Pomona Waste Management CEO Dilesh Nguwaya and Eric Francis Niyonsaba, the director of Kambucha Beverages.
IIP “is not authorised to award degrees in Zimbabwe as it is not a registered higher education institution,” ZIMCHE said in a statement.
IIP, on its website, says some of its objectives are to “foster and nurture philanthropy in Zimbabwe, Africa and beyond” and “to acknowledge, celebrate and honour philanthropists.”
Excellence must be “recognised, encouraged and awarded,” it adds.
ZIMCHE says Zimbabwean law prohibits institutions not registered and accredited by it to offer degrees, even honorary ones.
“The awarding of degrees by the International Institute of Philanthropy is not only a violation of the laws of Zimbabwe, but also undermines the integrity of the entire higher education system in Zimbabwe,” ZIMCHE said.
“We take the integrity of the higher education system in Zimbabwe very seriously and will not tolerate any attempts to undermine it. Accordingly, the degrees awarded by the International Institute of Philanthropy are not recognised in Zimbabwe.
“Members of the public are advised against using titles awarded by unregistered institutions such as the International Institute of Philanthropy.”
ZIMCHE has also ordered IIP to “publicly withdraw all awarded degrees and inform all recipients accordingly.”
Some well-to-do Zimbabweans, apparently seeking validation, have obtained non-academic honorary degrees from dodgy foreign institutions and insist on being called Dr.
ZIMCHE was established to act as a regulator in the determination and maintenance of standards of teaching, examinations, academic qualifications and research in institutions of higher education.
