Ondo bans ‘elaborate’ graduation ceremonies in nursery, junior secondary schools

Ondo State Government has prohibited private schools from organising graduation ceremonies for pupils in nursery schools, as well as students in Junior Secondary Schools (JSS).

Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Professor Igbekele Ajibefun, announced the directive on Wednesday in Akure during a meeting with school proprietors and proprietresses across the state’s 18 local government areas.

He said the move forms part of efforts to sanitise the education sector.

According to him, the government has also outlawed unregistered schools, introduced re-accreditation of private schools for quality assurance, and banned graduation ceremonies for nursery pupils.

Ajibefun said, “My interactions start with private school owners because the private sector plays a critical role as you are major stakeholders in the education business. It is more serious than any other business.

“It is obvious that things have gone bad in the education sector; there are urgent issues we need to address so that we can bring back the lost glory.”

The commissioner explained that schools operating illegally would be given a six-month grace period to secure approval, adding that conditions for registration would soon be reviewed to make the process easier.

“When you run an unapproved school, you are running an illegal business. This administration will not allow illegalities, and that is the reason we are reviewing it. In the next couple of weeks, the new conditions will be rolled out. All private schools operating in the state must meet minimum standards.

“We are also banning elaborate graduation ceremonies, especially for nursery and JSS classes in the state,” he said.

Ajibefun further warned schools against organising excursions without clearance from the ministry, citing security concerns. He also cautioned against making extra lessons compulsory and announced a new policy to stop the yearly exploitation of parents through compulsory purchase of new textbooks.

He explained that siblings of a pupil would be allowed to reuse textbooks over several years.

The commissioner added that the government was working on digitising all schools, noting that soon every primary and secondary school pupil in the state would be migrated to the ministry’s digital platform.

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