Federal Government Reforms Basic Education System
The Federal Government has announced plans to discontinue the policy that separates Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) from Senior Secondary Schools (SSS), following findings that more than 20 million pupils fail to progress to the senior secondary level.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, made the announcement in Abuja on Tuesday June 30th, 2026 during the inauguration of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Ministerial Implementation and Monitoring Committee.
According to the minister, the policy of operating JSS and SSS as separate institutions with different principals and facilities has not achieved its intended goals.
“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.
Alausa explained that the disparity in the number of schools has resulted in overcrowded junior secondary schools while many senior secondary schools remain underutilised. He cited Kaduna and several northern states as examples of the challenge.
“This disarticulation policy has failed. We will phase it out. We can’t be creating positions because we want to create a director level for people while we harm our education system. It’s about doing what is best for every Nigerian child”, he added.
He disclosed that a proposal to formally scrap the policy will be presented at the next meeting of the National Council on Education.
The minister said the planned reform is designed to improve access to education and enhance learning outcomes. While acknowledging previous shortcomings in tackling low transition rates, he assured Nigerians of the government’s commitment, saying:
“This government will not fail. We are fixing it.”
During the event, Alausa also inaugurated a committee led by Professor Rashid Aderinoye to supervise UBEC-funded Smart Schools, Bilingual Schools, and Alternative Schools across the country.
The committee has been tasked with ensuring the completion of the projects, their handover to state governments, and their eventual commencement of academic activities.
UBEC has invested in hundreds of these schools nationwide, but the minister noted that many projects remain incomplete or have yet to admit students, describing the situation as a waste of public funds.
Nigeria continues to have one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children globally, with millions of school-age children, especially those in rural and conflict-affected communities, still without access to formal education.
Education stakeholders have repeatedly stressed that tackling the crisis requires more than building new schools. They argue that completed facilities must be fully operational, properly staffed, and accessible to learners to achieve meaningful results.
