By Peter Omopo
September 9, 2025 — The Abia State Government has announced a ban on mid-school transfers for students in Senior Secondary 2 (SS2) and Senior Secondary 3 (SS3) as part of sweeping reforms to tackle examination malpractice and strengthen accountability in the education sector.
The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Goodluck Ubochi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Umuahia. He said the policy would apply to both public and private schools across the state.
According to Ubochi, all SS2 students will now be required to pass a state-organised promotion examination before advancing to SS3, a measure aimed at safeguarding the integrity of the system.
“All SS2 students are now required to pass a state-organised promotion examination to be admitted into SS3. This measure is designed to ensure accountability and integrity in the education system,” he stated.
New Restrictions and Cost-Cutting Measures
The commissioner also announced restrictions on graduation ceremonies, which will now only be permitted for terminal classes — Primary 6 and SS3 — in order to reduce financial pressure on parents.
In addition, schools must now separate textbooks from workbooks, allowing younger siblings to reuse textbooks and cut costs for families.
The government further directed that students seeking to sit for tertiary entrance examinations must present their basic education certificates. To support this, schools have been ordered not to charge more than ₦2,000 for Primary 6 certificates.
Background and Context
The reforms are part of Governor Alex Otti’s broader agenda to restore credibility to Abia’s education sector, which has faced challenges of underfunding, dilapidated infrastructure, and widespread malpractice.
Similar transfer bans are already in place in Anambra, Lagos, and Enugu, where authorities have sought to stop students from moving to less strict schools in the build-up to major external exams such as the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) tests.
In 2023, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) flagged multiple cases of impersonation and syndicate-led malpractice across Nigeria, with South-East states listed among those under close watch.
Ubochi stressed that Abia’s new policies would curb such practices, ease parental costs, and reinforce discipline across the state’s schools.
