By our correspondent
Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, has signed into law a sweeping Educational Reforms Bill designed to ease the financial burden on parents, promote quality learning, and eliminate exploitative practices in both public and private schools across the state.
The reforms, described as long overdue, introduce measures that will drastically cut costs for families while ensuring a standardized learning environment. Under the new law, the cost of obtaining a school leaving certificate has been pegged at ₦2,000 only, ending years of arbitrary charges.
To curb indiscriminate transfers, the law stipulates that students must sit for their WAEC or NECO examinations in the same secondary school where they attended SS2, thereby halting the practice of last-minute switches.
In addition, no student will be allowed to register for WAEC or NECO without first passing a government-administered Centralized Examination (GCE), which will serve as a benchmark for readiness.
Another key highlight is the directive on textbooks. Textbooks are now to be reusable, meaning pupils can no longer write homework directly in them. This allows families with multiple children to pass textbooks down to younger siblings, saving costs each academic session.
The law also bans extravagant graduation ceremonies for nursery and primary pupils, a move aimed at discouraging unnecessary spending by parents.
Governor Otti said the reforms were necessary to “make education not only affordable but also meaningful, standardized, and sustainable for Abia families.”
Education stakeholders have lauded the development, urging other states and the Federal Ministry of Education to adopt similar policies to reduce the cost of education nationwide.
