Photo File: Ogun State Governor – Dapo Abiodun

In a decisive move aimed at restoring sanity to the education sector and alleviating financial pressure on parents, the Ogun State Government has announced a ban on graduation parties for pupils in pre-basic, kindergarten, and nursery schools across the state. The announcement was made by the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, during a press briefing held in Abeokuta on Thursday, where he outlined the state’s preparedness for the 2024/2025 academic session.

Prof. Arigbabu stated unequivocally that henceforth, graduation ceremonies will only be permitted for pupils who have completed Primary Six, Junior Secondary School Three (JSS3), and Senior Secondary School Three (SS3), which are recognized academic transition points. According to him, the decision was taken to discourage the growing culture of extravagance and social display that has come to characterize graduation events at lower levels of education, especially in nursery and kindergarten classes.

He lamented that elaborate parties for children who are yet to reach any significant academic milestone have become a financial burden on parents and a distraction from the core purpose of education. “Graduation ceremonies should reflect genuine academic progress, not serve as platforms for unnecessary social fanfare,” the commissioner said, adding that the government will no longer condone practices that exploit parents under the guise of celebrating children’s advancement.

This policy aligns Ogun State with other states such as Imo, Edo, Ebonyi, and Benue, which have similarly outlawed graduation parties for nursery and lower primary pupils in a bid to curb exploitative tendencies by some school proprietors and reduce the commercialization of education.

In addition to the graduation party ban, Prof. Arigbabu also announced a new directive concerning textbook usage in schools. He revealed that all schools in Ogun State must now adhere to a six-year textbook cycle, meaning that no school is permitted to change its booklist until the current textbooks have been used for a minimum of six academic years. This measure, he explained, is designed to ease the financial strain on parents who are often compelled to purchase new textbooks every school session due to arbitrary changes by school authorities.

“Quality education does not depend on frequent textbook changes but on effective teaching and the proper use of available resources,” Prof. Arigbabu emphasized. He warned that the Ministry of Education would strictly monitor compliance with the new textbook policy and that any school found guilty of imposing unnecessary textbook changes would face appropriate sanctions.

The commissioner assured parents, teachers, and school administrators that both decisions—the graduation party ban and the textbook cycle policy—were taken in the best interest of pupils and families. He called on all stakeholders in the education sector to support the initiative, stressing that the government remains committed to delivering quality and affordable education to all children in Ogun State.

As the new academic session approaches, the Ogun State Government’s stance signals a renewed effort to prioritize substance over spectacle in the educational journey of its young citizens.