By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
The Ondo State Government has prohibited private schools from holding graduation ceremonies for nursery and primary pupils, as well as Junior Secondary School students across the state.
The state Commissioner for Education, Professor Igbekele Ajibefun, on Wednesday, said this was part of the decision of the state government to sanitize the education sector of the state.
According to the commissioner, other decisions included the prohibition of illegal and unregistered schools, the banning of graduation ceremonies for nursery schools and the re-accreditation of all private schools for quality assurance.
Ajibefun, who spoke with all proprietors and proprietresses of schools in the 18 local government areas, in Akure, the Ondo State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Professor Igbekele Ajibefun, declared that the state government was poised to reposition the education sector and was taking deliberate steps to encourage and support private school owners through different policies.
The Commissioner 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 schools operating illegally in the state would be given a six-month grace period to get approval, and the state would review the conditions for school approval to make it 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 state.”
Ajibefun also stressed that the state would no longer tolerate schools organizing excursions without approval or clearance from the Ministry due to the state of security in the nation.
He advised private school owners to be circumspect on the issue of making extra lessons compulsory after normal classes.
On the reuse of textbooks, the government has banned the exploitation of parents through the purchase of new textbooks every year, stating that siblings of a particular pupil can continue to use the same textbook for a period of time.
The commissioner also mentioned that the process of digitizing all schools in the state was in progress, noting that all students in the state’s primary and secondary schools would soon be migrated to the digital platform of the Ministry of Education.