Parents and guardians in Lagos State may now have one more requirement to sort out before enrolling their children in school. The Lagos State Government has made registration with the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) compulsory for learners seeking admission or enrolment in all public and private schools across the state. The new requirement will apply from the 2026/2027 academic session, with schools expected to begin obtaining and recording the valid LASRRA registration number of every learner from Monday, September 14, 2026. The directive was contained in a statement by the Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Adepeju Adeyemi, and approved by the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Tolani Alli-Balogun.
What Schools Must Now Do
Under the new arrangement, schools will be required to include each learner’s LASRRA registration number in admission and school records. They have also been directed to sensitise parents and guardians about the requirement and advise those whose children or wards are not yet registered to complete the process before the new academic session. The Office of Education Quality Assurance said the registration and verification process would form part of its monitoring and quality-assurance activities across schools in the state.
The government said the policy is aimed at building a comprehensive and verifiable database of learners in Lagos. According to the state, having accurate information on learners would improve record-keeping, identification and verification, as well as help government agencies make decisions based on reliable data.
Why Lagos Wants The Database
For a state with a large and constantly changing population, knowing how many children are in school, where they are located and how they are distributed across different areas can affect how education resources are planned. The government said the LASRRA database would provide information that could support planning, monitoring and service delivery in the education sector. The move also expands the role of resident registration beyond simply identifying residents. LASRRA registration is already presented by the Lagos State Government as a way of helping the state understand its population and plan public services. The state’s Citizens Gate platform lists LASRRA registration among its services and says the resident identification system helps the government serve residents more effectively.
What Parents Need To Know
The immediate concern for parents is whether children who do not already have LASRRA numbers will be able to complete their school enrolment. The directive makes clear that schools are expected to advise unregistered parents and guardians to complete the registration process ahead of the new academic session. The state has also made LASRRA registration available through its online registration platform, while residents can locate registration centres based on their local government area. Parents therefore have less than two weeks from the announcement to prepare for the September 14 commencement of the new requirement.
For families with more than one child, the policy could also mean ensuring that each learner has the required registration information properly recorded before admission or enrolment is completed.
Registration Is Free
The requirement comes with another important reminder from LASRRA. PUNCH reported that the agency had previously warned registration agents against collecting money from residents, stressing that the registration exercise is free. This is significant as the new school requirement could increase demand for registration services, particularly as parents prepare their children for the new academic year. Residents are able to begin the process online through the Lagos State resident registration portal.
A New Layer Of School Records
The policy means the LASRRA number will become part of the administrative records maintained by schools across Lagos. Rather than keeping only information supplied by parents during admission, schools will now be expected to connect learners’ records to the state’s resident registration system. The government believes this will strengthen learner identification and verification and provide more credible information for education planning.
The policy will apply to both public and private schools, making it a state-wide requirement rather than a rule limited to government-owned institutions. For private schools, compliance will become part of the state’s wider quality-assurance monitoring.
What Happens Next?
With September 14 set as the start date, schools, parents and guardians are now expected to prepare for the change. Schools will have to incorporate LASRRA numbers into their admission and enrolment processes, while parents whose children are yet to be registered will need to begin the process. The Lagos State Government has presented the policy primarily as a data and planning measure rather than simply another admission requirement.
The larger objective is to create a reliable picture of the state’s learners and use that information to support decision-making in education. For parents, however, the practical message is simpler: from September 14, having a valid LASRRA registration number will be part of enrolling a child in a Lagos school.
As the 2026/2027 academic session approaches, the success of the policy will depend not only on schools enforcing the directive but also on how easily parents can complete the registration and verification process.