In societies that have carved out lasting greatness, education has always stood at the heart of transformation. It is where children are not just taught, but shaped into citizens, builders, and visionaries.
For years in Edo State, as in many parts of Nigeria, that foundation had begun to crack. Education was increasingly distorted hijacked by commercialization, weighed down by unnecessary expenses, and hollowed by a system more obsessed with show than with substance. Graduation ceremonies for toddlers became bloated carnivals, textbooks were endlessly repackaged for profit, and classrooms prioritized cramming over creativity.
Then came a reset.
Under Governor Monday Okpebholo, and with the bold leadership of Commissioner for Education, Dr. Paddy Iyamu, Edo State is witnessing a quiet revolution one that doesn’t simply tinker with the system but seeks to restore its soul.
Take the clampdown on excessive graduation ceremonies. On the surface, it might seem like a minor cultural shift, but it’s anything but. For years, parents were forced into needless spending on robes, photoshoots, and parties for children who were still grappling with the basics of reading and writing. These ceremonies, more about appearance than achievement, added pressure and cost but little value.
Governor Okpebholo’s decision to end this trend is a firm signal: education is not performance art. It is a journey of discipline, learning, and growth. And the milestones along that journey must be marked with meaning, not vanity.
This same philosophy drives the reforms on textbook use. For too long, families were caught in an endless cycle of buying “new” editions every year even when the content had barely changed. It became a ritual of waste that placed a heavy burden on struggling households.
Now, with standardized books set for a minimum use of four years, and the freedom for siblings to reuse them, a major weight has been lifted. Education has been moved from a place of financial pressure to one of practical access. Parents can now plan better, and learning materials are no longer treated as disposable. It’s a simple policy shift but one that delivers fairness, relief, and dignity.
And yet, the most forward-thinking aspect of Okpebholo’s reform lies in the introduction of compulsory skill acquisition from JSS3. For the first time in the state’s history, students are not just being trained to pass exams they are being prepared to build lives.
In a nation where many leave school with certificates but no real-world abilities, this is a radical step. Vocational training from tailoring and farming to solar installation, digital literacy, and phone repairs is now embedded into the curriculum. The aim? To ensure that every student graduates with not just a certificate, but a skill that can serve them for life.
It is a move that doesn’t just prepare students for the job market; it positions them to create jobs, solve problems, and contribute meaningfully to their communities. It turns the classroom into a launchpad for independence and innovation.
Imagine a teenager from Ekpoma who learns to code before finishing secondary school. Or a girl from Iguobazuwa who acquires solar installation skills and becomes a player in Nigeria’s renewable energy sector. These aren’t just hypotheticals they are now real, attainable outcomes under this new system.
What emerges from all of this is a powerful philosophy: that education must be comprehensive. It must engage the mind, shape the character, train the hands, and stir the heart. For too long, the system focused only on grades. Now, it is beginning to focus on growth.
Governor Okpebholo’s reforms are restoring something deeper than policy they are restoring purpose. In a nation often content with surface changes, Edo State is going deeper, challenging the very assumptions that have held its children back.
Change is never easy. It often meets resistance. But the work of leadership is to choose the difficult right over the comfortable wrong. And by daring to make this shift, Governor Okpebholo is doing just that.
What will endure from this moment won’t be headlines or applause. It will be the young people who go on to build businesses, solve problems, raise families, and uplift their communities because they were given not just knowledge, but tools. Not just lessons, but skills. Not just hope, but opportunity.
Years from now, when the history of this era is written, it may be said that these reforms were the turning point the moment when education in Edo State moved from noise to meaning, from expense to empowerment, from repetition to relevance.
And at the center of it will be the vision of a governor who chose to restore, reform, and reimagine not just for today, but for generations to come.
