The Sokoto State Government has banned all “signing-out” celebrations by graduating secondary school students in both public and private schools across the state.
The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Prof. Ahmad Ladan Ala, announced the ban on Thursday, citing increasing cases of student misconduct, vandalism, and public disturbances linked to these celebrations.
Prof. Ala said that what started as a simple way for students to celebrate the end of exams has now become disruptive and goes against the values of discipline, academic focus, and responsible behaviour that the education system seeks to uphold.
“All school principals have been instructed to stop students from organising or taking part in any form of signing-out activities, whether inside or outside the school,” he said.
The ministry also urged parents and guardians to support the ban by discouraging their children from engaging in such celebrations.
The directive, signed by the Director of Examination Matters, Abubakar Abdullahi, is to be fully enforced by all secondary school heads in the state.
Signing-out celebrations, common in many Nigerian schools, usually involve final-year students writing farewell messages on each other’s uniforms and sometimes engaging in unruly behaviour.
