The Abia State Government has announced a new policy prohibiting students from transferring between Senior Secondary 2 (SS2) and Senior Secondary 3 (SS3), in a bid to tackle rising cases of examination malpractice in the state.
The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Goodluck Ubochi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Umuahia, the state capital.
He explained that the policy applies to both public and private schools across Abia.
According to Ubochi, all SS2 students must now pass a state-organised promotion examination before being admitted into SS3.
He said the measure is designed to strengthen accountability and restore integrity to the education system.
The commissioner also announced new restrictions on graduation ceremonies, noting that they would now be limited to terminal classes — Primary 6 and SS3.
He explained that the decision was taken to ease the financial pressure on parents.
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In addition, schools have been directed to separate textbooks from workbooks to allow younger siblings reuse textbooks, thereby reducing costs for families.
Ubochi added that students seeking admission into tertiary institutions must henceforth present their basic education certificates.
To facilitate this, schools are barred from charging more than N2,000 for Primary 6 certificates, which he noted are often abandoned by parents.
The latest directives form part of Governor Alex Otti’s broader reforms aimed at addressing longstanding challenges in Abia’s education sector, including underfunding, dilapidated infrastructure, and widespread examination malpractice.
Similar bans on mid-school transfers already exist in states like Anambra, Lagos, and Enugu to discourage students from switching to less strict schools ahead of senior secondary examinations such as WAEC and NECO.
In 2023, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) flagged multiple cases of impersonation and organised malpractice in Nigeria, with South-East states among those under closer monitoring. Abia’s new measures, officials say, are part of efforts to restore discipline and credibility in the school system.
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