...Education Minister Says Policy Has Failed
…Seeks To Halt Rising School Dropout Rate
Daud Olatunji
The Federal Government has unveiled plans to abolish the long-standing separation of Junior Secondary School and Senior Secondary School, describing the policy as a major contributor to Nigeria’s worsening school dropout crisis.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced the proposed reform on Tuesday in Abuja during the inauguration of the Universal Basic Education Commission Ministerial Implementation and Monitoring Committee, saying the existing arrangement has failed to guarantee a smooth transition for millions of learners.
According to the minister, more than 20 million pupils are lost between primary education and junior secondary school, a trend he attributed partly to the acute shortage of junior secondary schools across the country.
Alausa disclosed that Nigeria currently has about 80,000 public primary schools but only about 15,000 junior secondary schools, creating a one-to-eight ratio that has left many pupils without access to the next stage of 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 explained that the imbalance has resulted in overcrowded junior secondary schools, while several senior secondary schools, particularly in Kaduna and some northern states, remain underutilised.
He argued that operating JSS and SSS as separate institutions under different principals and administrative structures has outlived its usefulness.
“This disarticulation policy has failed. We will phase it out. We can’t be creating positions because we want to create director-level offices while harming our education system. It’s about doing what is best for every Nigerian child,” Alausa stated.
He said the proposal to scrap the policy would be tabled before the National Council on Education for consideration and approval.
According to him, the reform is expected to improve access to secondary education, strengthen the transition from junior to senior secondary school and ultimately reduce the country’s alarming dropout rate.
“This government will not fail. We are fixing it,” the minister added.
At the event, Alausa also inaugurated a committee chaired by Prof. Rashid Aderinoye to monitor the implementation of UBEC-funded smart schools, bilingual schools and alternative schools nationwide.
He said the committee would ensure that the projects are completed, handed over to state governments and put into use for teaching and learning.
The minister also decried the number of UBEC-funded schools that have remained uncompleted or are yet to admit students despite huge public investments, describing the development as a waste of scarce government resources.
He expressed optimism that the monitoring committee would accelerate the completion and operationalisation of the projects to expand access to quality education across the country.
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