Honorary doctors only bring dishonour to us

Recently, there has been a plethora of Honorary Doctors being created by now defunct universities rewarding friends and relatives for services rendered.

Most of these are under -serving and are a blot on the academic landscape bringing disgrace to the system of awarding doctorates.

To call oneself a doctor one has to have the following requirements:

1. A Ph.D being conferred for a dissertation or thesis submitted to a recognized university.
2. A medical degree conferred after a course of study at a recognized Faculty of Medicine within a recognized university – either an MBBS or MB.Ch.B.
3. A Higher Doctoral Degree or Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.), a Doctor of Science (DSc) or a Doctor of Law (LL.D) being conferred after submission of a volume of published research work sufficient in volume and distinction to warrant the granting of such a degree, as judged by a committee appointed for the purpose by a recognized tertiary institution.

No other person has a right to be called or to call themselves a “Doctor”. Of recent origin has been a tradition now emerging where dentists are also called and call themselves “Doctors”.

It is high time the universities in Sri Lanka try to maintain standards by making it illegal for such charlatans who are usurping the title and devaluing it.

Those able to enforce the correct system in this regard, should please rectify this. We have become the laughing stock of the world because we are the only country that permits such nonsense!

By Dr. M.S. De Silva MBBS, Moratuwa.