The Kogi State Government has officially banned graduation ceremonies in basic and secondary schools, citing economic strain on parents and rising social ills associated with such ts.
Commissioner for Education, Wemi Jones, announced the decision in Lokoja during a stakeholders’ meeting, stressing that the practice has become financially unsustainable and counterproductive. He explained that the policy aims to ease parental burdens, discourage wasteful celebrations, and foster more meaningful recognition of students’ academic progress.
As part of the reforms, parents must now provide separate notebooks for classwork and assignments, rather than converting textbooks into workbooks. Jones said this will make textbooks reusable by younger siblings, especially in private schools.
The ministry also introduced mandatory mock examinations as a prerequisite for registering candidates for the West African Examination Council, WAEC, exams. Furthermore, the government vowed to prevent indiscriminate grade skipping and to introduce new, modest ways of celebrating academic milestones.
Reaffirming Governor Ahmed Ododo’s commitment to the 2020 Kogi State Education Law, Jones urged private school owners to moderate tuition fees while delivering quality education. He also appealed for stakeholder cooperation to reduce out-of-school children and strengthen compliance with state policies.
Stakeholders at the meeting, including NAPPS, ANCOPPS, SUBEB, and NAPTAN, welcomed the reforms but requested the recruitment of more teachers and the establishment of a committee to regulate textbooks.
Kogi joins other states in Nigeria that have recently banned graduation or signing-out ceremonies due to misconduct, vandalism, and excessive spending. Sokoto, Imo, Ondo, and Edo states have taken similar steps, while Nnamdi Azikiwe University banned signing-off celebrations at the tertiary level.
The National Orientation Agency, NOA, has also criticized indecent practices tied to such events and announced plans to introduce a National Values Charter to promote discipline and cultural reorientation nationwide.
Comments