Oyo Govt Bans “Sign-Out” Celebrations in Secondary Schools
The Oyo State government has officially banned sign-out celebrations in all secondary schools, public and private.
Commissioner for Education, Olusegun Olayiwola, announced the decision at a school resumption meeting in Ibadan on Thursday, September 11, 2025. According to him, the once harmless tradition of “signing out” has now turned into a breeding ground for indecency, harassment, and public disturbance.
The commissioner didn’t stop there — he also restated the ban on mobile phones in schools, describing them as distractions that open the door to cyberbullying and other misconduct.
Oyo now joins states like Jigawa, Imo, Ondo, Edo, and Kogi that recently outlawed extravagant send-forths, citing morality, safety, and financial burden on parents. In fact, Kogi even scrapped graduation parties altogether, replacing them with “speech and prize-giving days.”
Education stakeholders and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) have backed the clampdown. An NOA rep minced no words: “They write on the laps of their colleagues, they write on the breasts of their colleagues. This is against national values.”
The bigger picture: This nationwide trend shows how Nigerian states are trying to redefine school culture less about flashy street parades and shirt-spraying, more about discipline, values, and true academic achievement.
Do you think banning sign-out is the right move, or is the government killing students’ joy?
