By: Adedigba David
Once upon a time, graduation was sacred being a moment steeped in discipline, triumph, and transformation. It was the culmination of years of study, effort, and sacrifice. It was not a ceremony handed out like party packs, but one earned by finishing Primary Six, passing WAEC, defending a final-year project, or completing a rigorous academic journey. But today, in an era of decorative education, even toddlers are donning caps and gowns not to mark academic merit, but to satisfy a cultural craving for spectacle.
Across Nigeria, this new obsession is spreading like wildfire: “graduation” ceremonies for children as young as two, moving from Pre-Nursery to Nursery 1. Schools stage elaborate events, complete with banners, choreography, flowing robes, and full-blown fanfare. The stars of this show? Tiny tots who still mix up colours, can’t read their own names, and often nap through their own “valedictory” songs.
Behind this glittering absurdity lies a troubling truth: these ceremonies are rarely about the child’s learning. They are about optics. They are about revenue. Private schools, in particular, have “weaponised” the innocence of childhood to create commercial opportunities. Parents receive extensive shopping lists for custom-made outfits, branded souvenirs, photography packages, and ‘levies’ that outpace University matriculation fees. All for a transition within the same school compound.
Even more disturbing is the message it sends. When we reward minimal progress with maximal celebration, we dilute the value of true academic achievement. We blur the line between effort and entitlement. Children are taught that applause comes easily, that education is a pageant, and that looking the part is more important than playing it well. We are, unintentionally, raising a generation of performers not learners.
Government schools have not been spared. Some now paint classrooms just for photoshoots while the roofs leak, and teachers rehearse dances while lesson notes go untouched. Uniforms are redesigned, not for functionality, but for flair. Meanwhile, vital infrastructure and core educational content are neglected. And we wonder why literacy rates stagnate, or why our children struggle with global competitiveness.
This descent into theatrical education must be halted. The Federal and State Ministries of Education must set clear and enforceable standards, placing a moratorium on unnecessary graduation ceremonies at foundational stages. Inspections should focus on pedagogy and developmental milestones, not décor or DJ playlists. Parent-Teacher Associations must champion a return to substance, demanding that resources be channeled into teacher training, textbooks, and early childhood development, not choreography.
And parents, the heartbeat of the home must rise. Say no to pressure, no to pageantry, and no to performative parenting. Say yes to investing in what matters: curiosity, comprehension, character. Let your child’s brilliance be celebrated not with balloons, but with books. Not with tiaras, but with tools for lifelong learning.
If education is the bridge to a better tomorrow, then we must stop throwing confetti at the first step. Let us, as a nation, commit to restoring depth, discipline, and dignity to the learning journey. The future of our children and indeed our country demands nothing less. Let us move from the noisy noise of empty rituals to the noble path of real reform. Let us return to the essence of education where learning is not staged, but lived; not rented in robes, but rooted in reason. Enough of the theatre. It’s time for a revolution, one lesson plan, one child, one true graduation at a time.
Adedigba David writes from Abeokuta
