Ondo bans promotion of Primary 4 pupils to secondary school

He stressed, however, that the provision for double promotion should not become a general practice for an entire class of pupils.

According to him, the improper promotion of pupils has contributed to concerns about declining education standards in some schools.

Ajibefun also said the state government would intensify efforts to identify and eliminate examination “miracle centres”, which are often associated with examination malpractice.

He said education authorities would increase monitoring to detect centres where candidates engage in fraudulent examination practices.

“We do hear about the examination ‘miracle centres’. Yes, we learned that the exam miracle centres are where all forms of exam fraud are committed,” he said.

“We are going to look at these areas; we are going to do total monitoring. If we discover any, this is the time to eliminate it.”

The commissioner further disclosed that the government would take action against private schools operating without registration or the necessary documentation.

According to him, the number of unregistered private schools in the state may exceed that of officially recognised institutions.

He expressed concern that some schools were operating from unsuitable facilities, including single rooms and temporary structures, without being captured in the government’s official records.

Ajibefun said the Ministry of Education had identified several areas requiring urgent intervention and was introducing policies aimed at addressing the challenges.

“Having identified some of the issues that require some corrective measures, the ministry is coming up with new policies and these new policies will take effect, most of them, from this new academic year,” he stated.