Gombe Bans ‘Sign Outs’, Suspends Registration Of New Private Schools

Gombe State Government, through its Ministry of Education has banned the school graduation ‘sign out’ by students, and also suspended new private school registrations across the state.

In a statement signed by the Director of Quality Assurance in the ministry, Saidu Dauda Gadam, the government announced that only students completing Primary 6, JSS 3, and SS 3 will henceforth hold graduation ceremonies.

The ministry “frowns at the ‘sign-out’ culture where graduating students write with markers on each other’s fabrics, describing this as a growing “trend of unruly and unsafe conduct by students which has become a source of concern to the government,” saying “such practices remain banned in all schools.”

The measure, according to the Commissioner of Education, Professor Aishatu Umar Maigari, was to maintain standards and check excesses in schools.

The government also prohibited schools from forcing parents to buy learning materials such as textbooks, uniforms, and writing items exclusively within school premises.

Instead, parents now have the option to purchase educational materials for their wards in school or from the open market.

In order to ease financial burdens on parents, the state government also announced a ban on textbooks with built-in worksheets, which prevent reuse.

Dauda Gadam also directed schools September 15, 2026, to provide optional workbooks or exercise books separately, while main textbooks remain reusable in line with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) curriculum.

In a further regulatory move, the ministry suspended the registration of new private, community, and faith-based schools, while existing schools yet to complete their approval and certification process have been given October 31, 2025, as deadline to comply.

The ministry also ordered private schools to strictly align with government policies, especially in adopting the new curriculum, promoting skill development, enforcing anti-bullying rules, and ensuring proper examination centres for their senior secondary students.

According to the statement, the move was to ensure that education in the state remains accessible, affordable, and of high quality for all.