Ondo State on Wednesday banned graduation ceremonies for nursery pupils and Junior Secondary School, JSS 3 students, and also prohibited the practice of compelling parents to buy new textbooks every academic session.
Describing the practice as unnecessary, exploitative, and a needless financial burden on parents, the state government stressed that graduation ceremonies should be limited to pupils completing Primary Six and Senior Secondary School, SS 3, as these remain the officially recognised exit points in the state’s education system.
Edo, Imo, and Benue states had, a few weeks earlier, also abolished graduation ceremonies in kindergarten, nursery, and basic schools, as well as the use of customised books.
According to the Commissioner for Education, who disclosed this in Akure during a meeting with proprietors and proprietresses of private schools, the decision followed reports that some schools compel parents to spend huge sums on elaborate ceremonies, uniforms, and souvenirs for pupils.
Ajibefun, who stated that siblings of a pupil should be allowed to use the same instructional materials for a period of time to ease the financial burden on households, stressed that government was already working on the digitisation of all schools in the state.
The Education Commissioner also revealed that plans are at an advanced stage to migrate students in public primary and secondary schools onto the ministry’s digital learning platform.
He emphasised that the move would improve access to quality education, ensure uniformity, and promote accountability across schools.
He further cautioned proprietors against lowering academic standards, warning that any school unable to meet the government’s “irreducible minimum” requirements would be shut down.
