The Federal Government has announced plans to phase out the policy separating Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) from Senior Secondary Schools (SSS), citing its failure to improve students’ transition through the education system.
Minister of Education Dr. Tunji Alausa made the announcement on Tuesday in Abuja during the inauguration of the UBEC Ministerial Implementation and Monitoring Committee.
According to the minister, the decision follows findings that more than 20 million pupils drop out of school before progressing to the senior secondary level.
Alausa explained that the policy, which requires JSS and SSS to operate as separate institutions with different principals and facilities, has created significant challenges rather than improving education.
“We have 20 million dropouts from primary school to JSS. Where are those students? We also found we have 80,000 public primary schools and only about 15,000 junior secondary schools. That’s a one-to-eight ratio,” he said.
The minister noted that the shortage of junior secondary schools has resulted in overcrowded classrooms, while many senior secondary schools remain underutilised in several parts of the country, including Kaduna and other northern states.
Describing the policy as unsuccessful, Alausa said the government would present a proposal to abolish it at the next meeting of the National Council on Education.
“This disarticulation policy has failed. We will phase it out. We can’t be creating positions because we want to create director-level roles while harming our education system. It’s about doing what is best for every Nigerian child,” he added.
As part of broader education reforms, the minister also inaugurated a committee chaired by Prof. Rashid Aderinoye to monitor and implement UBEC-funded Smart Schools, Bilingual Schools and Alternative Schools across the country.
The committee has been tasked with ensuring that unfinished projects are completed, handed over to state governments and opened for learning, following concerns that many of the schools remain incomplete despite substantial public investment.
Alausa said the reforms are aimed at improving access to education, increasing student retention and ensuring that more Nigerian children successfully complete their secondary education.
