The Benue state government has prohibited graduation parties for kindergarten, nursery, and primary schools in the state.
Mrs. Helen Nambativ, the acting Commissioner of the Ministry of Education and Knowledge Management, told the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Makurdi that defaulting schools will face sanctions.
Nambativ stated that schools may be temporarily shuttered due to a failure to apply the new education policy, which forbade such gatherings.
The acting commissioner stated that the government was putting in place all of the necessary measures to enforce the new policy.
She stated that the new policy, which went into force immediately, would not only benefit individuals but would also sanitize the education system at the fundamental levels.
Nambativ, who is also the ministry’s permanent secretary, stated that schools that fail to execute the policy for the 2025/2026 academic year may be denied permission to operate.
She also stated that the Benue state government would form a task group for enforcement.
According to NAN, the Benue state government announced in a statement on August 21 that graduation festivities for kindergarten, nursery, and basic schools in the state would be banned.
According to the document, quoted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the decision will alleviate the financial burden on parents while redirecting emphasis to their children’s academic growth.
“The unpopular use of restricted, customized education materials, such as text/exercise books in Benue State schools, making them non-transferable to subsequent learners, is hereby abolished.
“All schools are by this notice directed to revert automatically to the traditional practice of senior students/pupils using and passing books down to pupils and students in lower classes.
“Compulsory and extended lessons after regular school hours cease, except where parental rights are sought and granted.
“All compulsory school graduation ceremonies in Benue State are hereby abolished, especially for kindergarten, nursery, and basic schools,” the government said in the memo.
However, a prominent school owner in Makurdi, who requested anonymity, told NAN that the timing of the regulation was incorrect.
He stated that the administration needs to communicate with relevant players in the education sector about the new policy and how it could be implemented prior to its introduction.
He said that most schools had already obtained the banned materials and should be allowed a one-year grace period.
Speaking with NAN, Mr. James Bemgba, a parent, praised the government for relieving parents of a tremendous burden.
According to Bemgba, most schools require parents to pay for their children’s graduations while they are under the age of three, as well as to purchase unnecessary books.
