FG moves to end JSS, SSS separation over rising school dropout crisis
The Federal Government has announced plans to phase out the policy separating Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) from Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) after revealing that more than 20 million pupils drop out before reaching the senior secondary level.
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, announced the decision on Tuesday in Abuja during the inauguration of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Ministerial Implementation and Monitoring Committee.
Alausa said the disarticulation policy, which requires junior and senior secondary schools to operate separately with different principals and facilities, has failed to achieve its objectives.
“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.
According to the minister, the imbalance has resulted in overcrowded junior secondary schools while many senior secondary schools remain underutilised, particularly in Kaduna and other northern states.
“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 said.
He disclosed that the proposal to abolish the policy would be presented at the next meeting of the National Council on Education for consideration.
Alausa said the reform is intended to improve access to education and increase the transition rate from primary to secondary education.
Acknowledging previous shortcomings in addressing school dropouts, he said the current administration was determined to reverse the trend.
“This government will not fail. We are fixing it,” he added.
The minister also inaugurated a committee chaired by Prof. Rashid Aderinoye to oversee the implementation of 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 commencement of academic activities.
Although UBEC has invested in hundreds of the specialised schools nationwide, Alausa said many remain incomplete or have yet to admit learners, describing the situation as a waste of public resources.
Nigeria continues to have one of the world’s largest populations of out-of-school children, with millions of school-age children, particularly in rural and conflict-affected communities, lacking access to formal education.
Education experts have repeatedly argued that tackling the country’s education crisis requires not only building more schools but also ensuring completed facilities are fully operational, adequately staffed and accessible to learners.