The government of Imo State has outlawed the practice of frequent textbook changes in both public and private schools inside the state. This prohibition is enforced by the Ministry of Education, Primary and Secondary.
It also outlawed specific levels of public and private school commencement exercises.
The new policy aims to alleviate financial strains on parents and guardians who are entrusted with the responsibility of their children’s education despite economic hardships, according to Prof. BTO Ikegwuoha, the Commissioner in charge of primary and secondary schools.
According to a press statement that the Commissioner made accessible to media, the ministry has warned both public and private schools to be careful with the new regulation.
He went on to say that the State Government had sent a stern warning to all principals, head teachers, and private school owners, threatening license revocation among other harsh penalties if they did not comply quickly.
Kindergarten, Nursery, Junior Secondary School 3, and JSS 3 are all exempt from having graduation ceremonies as of right now.
There are no fees for send-off festivities, and graduation ceremonies can only be held by students in Primary 6 and Senior Secondary School 3.
The Ministry also forbade students in Primary 1–5, JSS 1–3, and SSS 1-2 from being coerced into paying for others’ farewell or graduation parties.
“Schools are forbidden from organising, supervising, or collecting funds for such events,” the statement stated, adding that although Primary 6 and SSS 3 graduates can make personal or family arrangements, it was still prohibited.
Schools cannot compel parents to purchase new versions or whole new titles annually for financial gain, according to Ikegwuoha, who also hinted that the prohibition on what he called “arbitrary and frequent changing of textbooks” will be in effect until 2030.
From now on, he insisted, approved textbooks must remain unchanged for a minimum of four years.
August 2026 will see the introduction of a new list of textbooks approved by the state; this list will be in effect until August 2030.
He cautioned that any private school discovered in violation of the regulations would risk the swift revocation of its licence and removal from the State’s list of authorised institutions.