Commercialized school graduations are pushing families into debt. Critics call on Nigerian education ministries to end excessive ceremonies and restore academic value

Commercialized school graduations in Nigeria are drawing sharp criticism as growing concerns emerge over the financial and emotional burden they place on struggling families.

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What was once a symbolic academic milestone has, in many schools, become an annual financial trap, according to a Nigerian journalist and publisher, Gbolahan Adetayo.

Adetayo is urging the Federal and State Ministries of Education to immediately regulate what they describe as an exploitative trend—particularly in nursery and primary schools.

Traditionally, graduation ceremonies were reserved for students in Primary 6, SS3, and final-year university classes. These events marked genuine academic transitions.

Today, however, schools are organizing lavish ceremonies for nearly every class, including kindergarten and nursery levels.

Adetayo argues that this culture of commercialized school graduations has turned into a profit-driven cycle, with parents forced to pay for elaborate gowns, entertainment, decorations, and photography—often just weeks before resuming the next school term.

This is no longer celebration—it’s exploitation. From crèche to university, parents are drained financially every single year.

The practice is said to be common in both private and increasingly public schools.

With the country’s current economic hardships, families are struggling to keep up with the social and financial expectations imposed by these ceremonies.

Reports have surfaced of parents falling into debt, skipping essential needs, and even resorting to desperate means to cover graduation costs—especially single mothers under pressure to conform to school or societal standards.

The publisher is calling for clear national guidelines to regulate when and how school graduations should be held.

He believes that only milestone classes—Primary 6, SS3, and final-year tertiary students—should participate in graduation ceremonies.

“Our education system should inspire, not exhaust,” said Adetayo. “Let’s bring back the dignity of real academic achievement and stop commercializing every step.”

The growing movement against commercialized school graduations highlights a deeper issue: the increasing commercialization of education at the expense of vulnerable families.

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Without urgent reform, the practice may become further entrenched, leaving many children and parents disillusioned about the true purpose of schooling.