Balarabe Musa
The Ban on Textbooks, Right Step in the Right Direction, this step recently taken by the government of Imo State is a commendable educational step, with other states followed suit. It banned elaborate graduation parties for pupils in nursery, primary, and junior secondary schools with immediate effect.
The Commissioner for Education, Imo State, Professor Bernard Ikegwuoha, in a memo directed that only Primary 6 and Senior Secondary School 3 (SSS3) students may hold graduation ceremonies, in line with Nigeria’s 6-3-3-4 education system. Ikegwuoha explained that the move would reduce the financial strain on parents and ensure celebrations are reserved for key academic milestones.
In addition, he directed private and faith-based schools from changing textbooks yearly, mandating their use for at least four years to cut costs and enable siblings to share learning materials across sessions.
in reaction, parents described the move as a timely step toward curbing excesses and exploitation by some schools and placing undue financial pressure on parents.
Other states have followed suit, the Edo State government also announced that approved textbooks used by older siblings could continue to be used by others as long as they were still listed as such.This was just as it placed a ban on graduation ceremonies in nursery and primary schools, saying only those who had completed the basic education, that is, junior secondary school education, and the Senior Secondary School Education, were allowed to hold modest celebrations of their achievements.
The governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, announced certain reforms in the state’s education sector to protect parents, reduce exploitative practices, and make learning more accessible for children.
Under the new policy framework,
schools are directed to abolish the use of customised exercise and textbooks that restrict transfer to other learners, thereby restoring the traditional practice where senior students can pass down books to their juniors. The governor also ordered the discontinuation of compulsory after-school lessons, except where parents give consent, as well as the abolition of mandatory graduation ceremonies for kindergarten, nursery, and basic schools.
The moves by the Imo, Edo and Benue state governments are in the right direction.
A look at the situation in primary and secondary schools across the country, especially the privately-owned institutions, reveals a dark turn.
Textbooks are now workbooks; younger siblings can’t use their elder siblings’ books. This ugly practice places undue financial strain on parents and makes education a commercialised, dispiriting enterprise. This is utter bastardization of education and the school system. It is a travesty, a disservice to education. Against this backdrop, the recent decision by the Imo, Edo, Benue and Ondo governments deserves commendation. The school parties have become a financial drain on parents, many of whom are actually struggling to keep their children in school.
Again, the constant change of textbooks is a racket. Schools insisting on new editions of books each session are promoting exploitation and cruelty in an economy where many families can hardly afford school fees. It is indefensible that a child in Primary Two cannot use the same English or Mathematics textbook that his elder sibling used just two years earlier. Such needless changes enrich publishers and unscrupulous school operators while impoverishing households.
In another ugly development, Pre-school and Junior Secondary School graduation parties are now grand events for which parents are ‘billed’ heavily. This is profoundly sad.
What should ordinarily be modest celebrations have been turned into extravagant shows, with the cost of attire, party fees, souvenirs, and party venue piled on parents who are barely surviving.
By restricting graduation ceremonies to major academic milestones such as Primary Six and SSS 3, the governments have rightly placed emphasis on learning rather than merriment.
Education at the foundational level should be accessible and affordable, not commercialised. When parents are compelled to pay for extravagant parties and repeatedly purchase new textbooks, education becomes a privilege for a few rather than a right for all.
