FG Moves to Scrap JSS, SSS Separation Policy, Cites 20 Million School Dropouts
The Federal Government has announced plans to phase out the policy separating 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.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, made the disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja during the inauguration of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Ministerial Implementation and Monitoring Committee, PulseNets learnt.
According to information obtained by PulseNets, Alausa said the policy requiring junior and senior secondary schools to operate independently under separate principals and facilities has not delivered the expected results.
The minister explained that the ministry’s findings revealed a wide disparity between the number of primary schools and junior secondary schools across the country, a situation he said has contributed significantly to the growing number of school dropouts.
“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.
PulseNets learnt that the minister noted the imbalance has resulted in severe overcrowding in many junior secondary schools, while several senior secondary schools remain underutilised, especially in Kaduna and other northern states.
Declaring the existing arrangement ineffective, Alausa said the Federal Government has resolved to begin phasing out the policy to improve access to quality education for Nigerian children.
“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.
The education minister further disclosed that the proposal would be presented at the next meeting of the National Council on Education for consideration, PulseNets reported.
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He added that the planned policy reform forms part of the Federal Government’s broader strategy to strengthen access to education, improve learning outcomes, and address longstanding challenges affecting school enrolment and progression across the country.
