The Anambra State Government has announced a ban on what it described as “flamboyant and unnecessary graduation parties” in schools across the state.
The move aligns Anambra with other states that have recently taken similar steps to curb financial exploitation of parents.
Commissioner for Education, Professor Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, made the announcement during the opening of a three-day conference for proprietors of private schools in Awka, covering the Awka, Aguata, and Nnewi zones.
She said the decision is meant to save parents from extortion disguised as end-of-session or graduation ceremonies.
According to her, education is a calling, not an avenue for material gain, and schools must refrain from exposing children to unnecessary luxury and competition that only breed rivalry and unhealthy comparisons among pupils.
She stressed that modesty must guide school activities, especially events involving children.
The conference, she explained, was designed to update private school managers on modern methods of teaching, effective school administration, and the latest curriculum reforms.
These reforms, she added, are in line with Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s vision to raise education standards in the state and ensure private schools match the quality of their public school counterparts.
Professor Chuma-Udeh also urged proprietors to invest in continuous training and retraining of their teachers, noting that the quality of education in any school depends largely on the competence of its staff.
She emphasized that equitable access to quality education must remain the core principle of every institution, regardless of status or ownership.
She further reminded the proprietors that the Ministry of Education has a legal responsibility to provide them with guidelines on curriculum, pedagogy, and educational standards.
By following these regulations, she said, schools can achieve excellence without exploiting parents or burdening children with lavish, unnecessary ceremonies.
The commissioner concluded by charging school owners to prioritize the holistic development of children over material displays, insisting that education should remain a tool for character formation, knowledge, and growth not a platform for showmanship.