College bans ‘sign-out’ parties, warns of consequences

The management of Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit, has banned all ‘sign-out’ celebrations. They warned that students who go against this rule may not get their graduation clearance and could be treated like criminals.

This decision came in a memo dated 29 June, signed by the college Registrar, Emediong Williams. It follows a motion in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly calling for all schools in the state to stop wild and unregulated sign-out activities.

The memo was sent to all students and staff within the college. It stated that the school is acting based on the assembly's directive.

"The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has urged the Ministry of Education to work with school authorities to immediately stop all forms of unruly and unregulated sign-out celebrations within and outside school premises.

"Because of this, the management of the college has declared the ‘sign-out’ exercise by students as illegal and has banned it completely.

"Any student caught taking part in this banned activity, either directly or indirectly, will not be cleared for graduation and will be treated as a criminal.

"All final year and continuing students are advised to keep law and order during and after their final year exams," the memo stated.

When contacted, Ms Williams told PREMIUM TIMES that this is not the first time the college has banned ‘sign-out’ celebrations. She mentioned that the previous management had also banned it.

Last week, the Akwa Ibom State Assembly passed a motion sponsored by Udobia Udo, who represents Esit Eket/Ibeno State Constituency. This motion sought to ban sign-out celebrations in primary, secondary, and tertiary schools across the state.

In the motion, the lawmaker noted that what used to be a simple end-of-school celebration has turned into activities marked by "indecent dressing, substance abuse, public drunkenness, sexual misconduct, violence, vandalism of school property, obstruction of public movement, and other forms of anti-social behaviour."

The assembly also raised concerns about how participants often share videos and photos of these events on social media, which glorifies bad behaviour and negatively affects younger students.

The assembly then urged the Ministry of Education, school authorities, and other related agencies to stop these unruly sign-out celebrations. They also want guidelines developed for proper graduation activities and sanctions for students involved in misconduct.

PREMIUM TIMES found out that the assembly's decision came after public outrage over a viral video. In the video, students in uniforms like those of Community Comprehensive Secondary School, Four Towns, Uyo, were seen smoking what looked like weed inside a classroom.

This incident raised new worries about discipline, drug abuse, and supervision in public schools. It also renewed calls for stricter rules on end-of-session celebrations.

The college's move is one of the first known actions taken in response to the assembly's decision. It marks the start of stricter measures against sign-out celebrations in schools across the state.