The Benue State Government has introduced stricter measures to regulate activities in schools across the state, banning compulsory extra lessons, restricting the use of non-transferable textbooks and limiting graduation ceremonies to designated exit classes.
The Commissioner for Education and Knowledge Management, Dr Margaret Adamu, announced the directives on Monday while briefing journalists at the ministry’s conference hall in Makurdi on the commencement of the 2026/2027 academic session.
She said the measures were designed to protect learners, reduce unnecessary financial pressure on parents, promote discipline and accountability, and improve the quality of education in the state.
Adamu directed that no school should conduct compulsory lessons after normal school hours unless such lessons were considered necessary and prior approval had been obtained from the Ministry of Education and Knowledge Management.
She, however, clarified that schools could organise approved extra lessons for learners preparing for external examinations.
“Any school that’s deemed necessary for their students to go on extra lessons, like the example I’ve given, they should give them a written approval, then they will come and take permission from us and they will allow them to do certain lessons,” she said.
According to the commissioner, the restriction on extra lessons was also intended to give learners adequate time to rest and interact with their parents, warning against excessive academic activities that could leave children physically and mentally stressed.
She directed schools to use only approved textbooks and prohibited the imposition of customised or restricted books that could not be transferred to other learners.
Adamu said parents could buy approved textbooks from sources other than their children’s schools, stressing that the cost of textbooks must not be incorporated into school fees.
She said inherited textbooks could be used where they remained in good condition, while noting that ECCDE books were not transferable.
Adamu urged parents to report schools that violated the directive, assuring them that the ministry would take appropriate action.