Every year, a familiar fever grips our society. From nursery to primary and secondary schools, the air is thick with the sound of trumpets, clinking glasses, and endless boasts: “My child is graduating!” At first, you might think they mean from a university or at least a major academic milestone. But probe further, and you will discover that the “graduation” in question is from Pre-KG to KG, or from KG to Primary One. We now celebrate the most minute steps as if they were giant academic leaps.
A frustrated Nigerian father recently cried out on social media: “How many times person go graduate? This one na just secondary school! They’re doing graduation as if it’s university convocation. It’s too much. We’re still managing school fees, now we must pay for souvenirs and party packs too? Madam principal, abeg help us. Na secondary school o, no be PhD!” ([Linda Ikeji’s Blog (https://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2025/7)
And with this obsession comes a new wave of social competition. Parents, in a desperate race for validation, turn their children into mannequins for borrowed glories—fake eyelashes on five-year-olds, artificial nails on primary school girls, elaborate braided hairstyles, and expensive rented suits for little boys who barely know how to tie their shoelaces. Then comes the mandatory canopy, the mountain of cakes, the hired photographers, and the inevitable social media parade. It is no longer about education; it is about display.
But beyond the colourful façade lies a darker, corrosive truth. Some parents, eager for recognition, lobby teachers and school administrators to secure meaningless awards for their children. And the schools—always looking for ways to monetize parents’ vanity—create a bizarre menu of awards with no intellectual value, dishing them out to the highest bidders. A teacher commenting in a Nigerian educators’ forum lamented: “Graduation parties these days are for competition among parents. Schools love it because it brings in more money. But what about the children? What are they really learning?” ([Facebook: Nigerian Teachers Forum](https://www.facebook.com/groups/nigerianteachers/posts)
So, a child who merely shows up might become the “Best in Punctuality” while the one whose parents paid extra becomes “Most Outstanding Learner.” It is a charade that undermines the very meaning of merit.
And then comes the most tragic irony. What becomes of the child whose parents organized a lavish statewide graduation ceremony after his final SSCE exams, only for him to fail critical papers in WAEC or NECO? Here lies the cruel aftermath. Some children slide quietly into depression, humiliated by the gap between the hype and the truth. Others, unable to bear the shame, contemplate suicide. Parents, meanwhile, resort to desperate cover-ups—hiding the failure by transferring the child to a distant school or bribing officials to “fix” results. In all this, the soul of education bleeds.
Yet we must remind ourselves of a simple truth: passing and failing are both legitimate outcomes of examinations. To criminalise failure or pretend it does not exist is to set our children up for a lifetime of dishonesty and shallow achievements. A society that cannot accommodate failure cannot nurture resilience.
If secondary school graduation must be celebrated—and I understand it is a source of income for schools and a source of pride for parents—then let us at least align it with global best practices. In the university system, a convocation is held only after results are officially released, after the academic journey has been validated by actual achievement. Why do we not do the same for secondary schools? Why celebrate an outcome whose reality is yet unknown?
As one concerned parent aptly wrote online: “We should stop spending money we don’t have for ceremonies that mean nothing. Graduation should follow results, just like in universities. Anything else is just a show for Instagram.”
This “Graduation Fever” is more than just a harmless cultural trend; it is a social disease—one that feeds on vanity, fuels corruption, promotes misplaced priorities, and burdens children with expectations they may not yet be equipped to meet. It erodes the seriousness of education, replacing intellectual growth with empty spectacle.
We must urgently rethink this madness. Schools should refocus on quality learning rather than frivolous ceremonies. Parents must choose substance over showmanship. Regulators must step in to standardize graduation practices so they align with genuine academic achievement.
Until we do, we will continue producing children who are dressed for success but unprepared for life. And as a nation, we will keep celebrating shadows while the true essence of education dies in silence.
* Fr. Dr. Okhueleigbe Osemhantie Æmos is a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Uromi and a Lecturer at the Catholic Institute of West Africa, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
