17/09/2026
NDI-ABIA...Gov. Alex C. Otti Has Signs The Much Needed Educational Reforms Bill:
Governor Alex Otti’s administration is tightening standards while trying to reduce unnecessary costs for parents.
Key measures include:
1] Certificate Costs: Schools are mandated to charge a maximum of ₦2,000 for the collection of the First School Leaving Certificate (Primary 6) to ensure affordability and stop the abandonment of certificates by parents
2] Ban on Mid-School Transfers: Students are strictly prohibited from switching schools between Senior Secondary 2 (SS2) and Senior Secondary 3 (SS3). Whichever school a student attends for SS2 is where they must register and sit for their WAEC or NECO examinations
3] Mandatory Promotion Exam: All SS2 students in both public and private schools must pass a state-organized, centralized promotion examination to advance into SS3.
4] Graduation Restrictions: Lavish graduation ceremonies for nursery and lower primary classes have been banned. Ceremonies are now restricted only to terminal classes (Primary 6 and SS3).
-Nobody registers for WAEC/NECO without passing a Government-set examination: Government Centralized Exam (GCE).
-Textbooks are reusable.
No more doing homeworks inside textbooks, prompting new students to buy fresh textbooks each term. Families who have many kids can now have their children inherit textbooks from their siblings.
-No extravagant graduation ceremony for nursery and primary students.
All these directives, which are aimed at curbing extortion of parents, making quality education more affordable, apply to both public and private schools in Abia State.
The bigger picture is clear: reduce financial pressure on families, discourage examination malpractice and bring greater uniformity and accountability into the school system.