The Federal Government has announced plans to abolish the separation between Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) and Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) as part of efforts to address Nigeria’s rising school dropout rate and improve students’ transition through the education system.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed the proposal on Tuesday in Abuja during the inauguration of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Ministerial Implementation and Monitoring Committee.
Key Highlights:
- FG plans to merge JSS and SSS into a unified secondary school structure.
- The proposal aims to reduce the country’s rising school dropout rate.
- Over 20 million pupils reportedly fail to transition from primary to junior secondary school.
- Nigeria has about 80,000 primary schools but only around 15,000 junior secondary schools.
- The minister described the current separation of JSS and SSS as ineffective and plans to phase it out.
- The proposal will be presented to the National Council on Education for consideration, while UBEC projects will be monitored to ensure they are completed and put to use.
According to the minister, more than 20 million pupils fail to progress from primary school to junior secondary education, describing the situation as a reflection of the shortcomings of the current education structure.
Alausa said Nigeria has about 80,000 public primary schools but only about 15,000 junior secondary schools, creating significant pressure on available facilities while many senior secondary schools remain underutilised in parts of the country.
He criticised the policy of operating JSS and SSS as separate institutions with different principals and administrative structures, insisting that the arrangement has failed to serve the best interests of Nigerian children.
“The disarticulation policy has failed. We will phase it out. It’s about doing what is best for every Nigerian child,” the minister said.
He added that the proposal would be presented at the next meeting of the National Council on Education for consideration.
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Alausa also inaugurated a committee chaired by Prof. Rashid Aderinoye to monitor UBEC-funded Smart Schools, Bilingual Schools and Alternative Schools across the country.
The committee is expected to ensure that completed projects are handed over to state governments and opened for learning, while addressing delays that have left many publicly funded schools abandoned or unused.
The minister described the underutilisation of completed educational facilities as a waste of public resources and reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to expanding access to quality education nationwide.
