OSAS EMMANUEL
ABUJA, Nigeria – The Federal Government has announced plans to abolish the long-standing separation between Junior Secondary School (JSS) and Senior Secondary School (SSS), describing the policy as a major contributor to Nigeria’s worsening out-of-school crisis.
The move comes as the government revealed that more than 20 million pupils who begin primary education fail to progress to senior secondary school, exposing what officials described as a critical structural flaw in the nation’s education system.
Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, unveiled the proposed reform on Tuesday during the inauguration of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Ministerial Implementation and Monitoring Committee in Abuja.
Nigeria currently operates the 6-3-3-4 education structure, comprising six years of primary education, three years of junior secondary education, three years of senior secondary education and a minimum of four years of tertiary education.
Alausa said the policy of operating JSS and SSS as separate institutions had failed to deliver its intended objectives and had instead created a massive bottleneck that leaves millions of children without access to secondary education.
According to him, Nigeria has about 80,000 public primary schools but only about 15,000 junior secondary schools, creating a severe transition gap after primary education and fuelling the country’s growing population of out-of-school children.
He explained that the arrangement has overstretched existing junior secondary schools while many senior secondary schools remain underutilised, limiting access to education for millions of Nigerian children.
The minister said available data showed that although about 24 million children enrol in primary schools across the country, only around four million eventually complete senior secondary education.
“About 24 million children enrol in our primary schools, but only about four million complete senior secondary school. More than 20 million children are dropping out between primary school and senior secondary school. Where are those students?” Alausa asked.
He blamed the situation on years of policy failure and inadequate planning, stressing that the current administration was determined to reverse the trend by removing structural barriers to education.
“The previous governments may have failed in this regard, but this government will not fail. We are fixing this. We need to create more opportunities for children to move seamlessly through the education system.
“We have overflowing junior secondary schools and empty senior secondary schools. I can objectively report today that this disarticulation policy has failed. We will phase it out. We cannot continue creating administrative positions while damaging our education system. It is about doing what is best for every Nigerian child,” he said.
Alausa disclosed that the proposal to scrap the separation of JSS and SSS would be presented before the National Council on Education for formal approval.
Beyond the proposed policy change, the minister inaugurated a high-powered implementation committee chaired by renowned education expert, Prof. Rashid Aderinoye, to accelerate the completion, handover and operation of UBEC-funded Smart Schools, Bilingual Schools and Alternative Schools across the country.
He lamented that despite huge government investments, hundreds of completed education projects remain abandoned or locked up instead of serving Nigerian children.
