The Abia State Government has announced a ban on graduation ceremonies for nursery, primary, and secondary school students who are not in their final year.
The measure applies to both public and private schools across the state.
In addition, the government has abolished the mandatory combination of textbooks and workbooks by publishers, a practice that previously prevented younger siblings from reusing textbooks already used by older ones.
The state’s Commissioner for Information,Prince Okey Kanu, disclosed the decisions during a press briefing on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti.
According to him, the policies aim to protect parents from being exploited by school proprietors.
“Following complaints from parents, education stakeholders in the state—including heads of basic education, officials of WAEC and NECO, NUT, ANCOPS, ETA, publishers, and NAMSAN—have agreed that graduation ceremonies should now be limited to primary six and SS3 students,” Kanu said.
He explained that graduation events for younger students were placing unnecessary financial burdens on parents.
“These ceremonies have been creating a deep hole in the pockets of parents, so this decision ensures relief and fairness,” he added.
The Commissioner also provided updates on newly recruited teachers, noting that postings had been adjusted to accommodate concerns raised by some teachers.
He highlighted that the state had conducted a two-week intensive training program to equip teachers with modern teaching skills.
Elder Goodluck Ubochi, Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, confirmed that the final posting of the new teachers would be published by the end of the week.
He also detailed the incentive structure for teachers willing to serve in hard-to-reach schools.
On the textbook policy, Ubochi said the government’s intervention would allow textbooks to be reused by multiple children, while workbooks would remain individualized for assignments.
“This separation protects parents from unnecessary expenses while ensuring students still have access to the materials they need,” he said.
Ubochi added that the state government had set strict limits on certificate collection fees: primary six and basic education certificates should not exceed N2,000, while secondary school certificates are capped at N4,000.
The briefing was attended by Professor Enoch Uche, Commissioner for Health, and Mr. Ferdinand Ekeoma, Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity.
