By Victoria Okpanachi
The Kogi State Government has banned frequent graduation ceremonies in basic and secondary schools across the state.
The decision was announced by the State Commissioner for Education, Wemi Jones, during a meeting with key stakeholders in the education sector.
The government also placed a ban on signing-out ceremonies in tertiary institutions.
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According to Jones, the practice of holding repeated graduation ceremonies in nursery, primary, and secondary schools is henceforth prohibited in the state with immediate effect.
He explained that the trend has become economically unsustainable, putting undue pressure on parents and exposing students to social ills associated with such celebrations.
Jones stressed that the ban is intended to reduce the financial burden on parents and encourage a more meaningful way of celebrating students’ achievements.
The state government also introduced a new policy requiring parents to provide separate notebooks for their children’s classwork and assignments, rather than using textbooks as workbooks.
The commissioner noted that this policy is designed to make textbooks reusable by siblings within the same family.
He reiterated that the new measures take effect immediately and reaffirmed the commitment of Governor Usman Ododo’s administration to fully implementing the Kogi State Education Law enacted in 2020.
Jones called on stakeholders to support and cooperate with the Ministry of Education to ensure the smooth enforcement of the new policies and the state education law.
Stakeholders at the meeting, however, urged the government to employ more teachers in public schools and establish a committee to regulate textbooks in line with state education standards.
