The Federal Government has announced plans to phase out the long-standing separation of junior secondary schools from senior secondary schools, citing its contribution to Nigeria’s growing education crisis and the alarming number of children dropping out of school.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed the proposed reform on Tuesday in Abuja during the inauguration of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Ministerial Implementation and Monitoring Committee.
According to the minister, the policy, introduced under the 6-3-3-4 education system in the early 1980s, has failed to improve access to education and has instead created structural challenges that prevent millions of pupils from advancing beyond primary school.
Alausa revealed that more than 20 million children fail to transition from primary school to junior secondary school due to an inadequate number of junior secondary institutions across the country.
He explained that while Nigeria has about 80,000 public primary schools, there are only about 15,000 junior secondary schools, resulting in overcrowded classrooms and limited opportunities for pupils to continue their education.
“The disarticulation policy has failed. We will phase it out because our priority is to do what is best for every Nigerian child, not to preserve administrative structures that no longer serve their purpose,” the minister said.
He noted that the proposal would be presented to the National Council on Education for consideration and approval as part of wider reforms aimed at improving access to quality education nationwide.
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The minister also expressed concern over Nigeria’s worsening learning outcomes, disclosing that approximately 75 per cent of children at the basic education level are unable to read and comprehend age-appropriate texts by the age of 10.
Describing the situation as unacceptable, Alausa stressed the need to embrace technology-driven learning to reverse the trend.
He urged state governments to take advantage of existing digital learning platforms developed by the Federal Government, including the Nigeria Learning Passport and other virtual education tools designed to improve teaching and learning.
Despite significant investments in digital education, the minister lamented that the platforms remain underutilised, noting that the Nigeria Learning Passport has only about 2.3 million users out of an estimated 67 million learners nationwide.
He warned that failure to maximise the available digital resources would amount to wasting public investment and slow efforts to improve educational outcomes.
Alausa also inaugurated a ministerial implementation and monitoring committee, chaired by Prof. Rashid Aderinoye, to oversee the completion and operationalisation of UBEC-funded smart, bilingual and alternative schools across the country.
Earlier, UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr. Aisha Garba, said technology had become essential for building an inclusive and resilient education system, adding that the commission had established digital learning centres, introduced smart classroom technologies and strengthened education data systems to support improved learning.
She, however, stressed that technology alone would not transform education without strong collaboration among governments, development partners and other stakeholders committed to expanding access and improving learning outcomes.