All public and private schools in Imo State are set to resume on Monday, September 8, for the 2025/2026 academic year, with the state government issuing strict directives to teachers, school administrators, and students.

The government has prohibited schools from demanding pupils and students to submit items such as shovels, hoes, cutlasses, rakes, brooms, mopping sticks, buckets, hypos, detergents, bottles of Dettol, soap of all kinds, toilet paper, A4 paper, or pay unauthorized levies before being admitted or allowed to sit for examinations across all 27 local government areas of the state.

In addition, the state has abolished the practice of printing and selling textbooks with embedded workbooks, a move aimed at making textbooks reusable by younger siblings and curbing unnecessary expenditure by parents.

The directive was contained in a statement issued over the weekend by the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Prof. Bernard Ikegwuoha.

The statement read, “As schools resume on Monday, September 8, 2025, and many students are admitted into JSS 1 and SSS 1, the practice of requiring parents to bring various items and pay unauthorized levies before admission is now of serious concern. Consequently, the Hon. Commissioner has requested that this practice be stopped forthwith.

“To ensure compliance, the government has introduced a dedicated phone line—0707 659 3298—for parents, guardians, and other stakeholders to report schools flouting government-approved policies. The statement emphasized that all textbooks already purchased by students are to be used for four years, ending in August 2026, after which a new list of approved textbooks will be issued, remaining in circulation until August 2030.”

On the issue of textbooks with embedded workbooks, the statement added: “The Ministry has abolished the printing of textbooks with embedded workbooks by authors and publishers. Henceforth, workbooks must be printed and distributed separately. All authors and publishers for the Imo State School System have already been notified.”

The commissioner expressed concern that some schools had continued to demand unauthorized items and levies from parents and students.

“Many secondary schools, private and public, have asked parents and students to bring items such as A4 paper even after paying examination fees. This directive is aimed at curbing extortion from school owners, HMs, and Principals,” the statement said.

Parents and stakeholders were urged to report any violation of the new directives.

“Let Nigerian and Imo parents, guardians, and stakeholders breathe. If you see anything going wrong at any Primary or Secondary School in Imo State, you must report it via text to 0707 659 3298,” the commissioner advised.