Activist Fela Castro urges Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to give legal backing to the Ondo school graduation ban, stressing that only legislation can protect parents from exploitation and enforce education sector reforms.
An activist and educationist, Fela Castro, has called on Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, to provide a strong legal foundation for the state’s recent ban on graduation parties and ceremonies in nursery, primary, and Junior Secondary School III (JSS3).
The call came after the state government, through the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun, announced earlier in the week that such celebrations had been abolished.
The pronouncement was made during a stakeholders’ meeting with proprietors of private schools drawn from all 18 local government areas of the state.
According to Prof. Ajibefun, the directive forms part of the ministry’s ongoing reforms aimed at sanitizing operations within the education sector, ensuring compliance with standards, and protecting parents from unnecessary financial demands.
He maintained that the culture of organizing elaborate graduation ceremonies for nursery, primary, and JSS3 pupils had become exploitative, wasteful, and contrary to the government’s vision of a disciplined and value-driven school system.
However, Fela Castro, in a statement issued on Saturday, insisted that the reform should not end as a mere pronouncement.
He urged Governor Aiyedatiwa to prepare and forward an executive bill to the Ondo State House of Assembly to transform the resolutions into binding law.
Without such legal backing, he argued, the policy risked being disregarded or quietly abandoned in the face of resistance from school proprietors who benefit financially from such practices.
“Why should the ban on wasteful nursery and JSS3 graduations become another policy that dies in silence?” Castro queried.
“If the Governor truly wants to end exploitation and bring sanity to the education system, then he must back these reforms with the force of law.”
The activist noted that the law should not be limited to banning premature graduation parties but must extend to other reforms urgently needed in the state’s private school sector.
He identified areas of concern such as the operation of unapproved or illegal schools, the imposition of arbitrary levies on parents, compulsory purchase of uniforms and books from specific vendors, and the issuance of fake certificates or documents.
To address these challenges, Castro proposed the enactment of a comprehensive framework to be known as the Ondo State Private Schools (Regulation and Standardization) Act, 2025.
He explained that such legislation would empower parents to seek redress against erring school proprietors, establish minimum safety and learning standards, regulate school fees and levies, and enhance accountability across the education sector.
He further clarified that the government’s move should not be misinterpreted as an attempt to attack cultural values or traditions.
Rather, it should be understood as a deliberate step towards protecting parents, especially low-income earners, from financial exploitation disguised as educational ceremonies.
“The ban on premature graduations is not an attack on culture,” Castro emphasized.
“It is a safeguard for parents against unnecessary expenses and a bold step to restore dignity, order, and fairness in the education system.
“Education must be about genuine learning, not about ceremonies that drain parents’ pockets.”
By calling for stronger legislation, Castro joins other education stakeholders who believe that only a legal framework can guarantee the sustainability of reforms in the sector, ensuring that future administrations do not easily reverse or abandon them under pressure from vested interests.
