FINALLY: Federal Government to Scrap JSS, SSS Separation Policy After 20 Million Pupils Drop Out
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 dropped out of school before reaching the senior secondary level.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja during the inauguration of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Ministerial Implementation and Monitoring Committee.
Alausa described the “disarticulation policy,” which requires junior and senior secondary schools to operate separately with different principals and facilities, as ineffective, saying it had failed to achieve its intended objectives.
According to the minister, the current arrangement has contributed to the high rate of school dropouts and inadequate access to junior secondary 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.
He explained that the imbalance has resulted in overcrowded junior secondary schools while many senior secondary schools remain underutilised, particularly in Kaduna and several northern states.
“This disarticulation policy has failed. We will phase it out. We can’t be creating positions because we want to create director-level positions for people while we harm our education system. It’s about doing what is best for every Nigerian child,” Alausa added.
The minister said the proposal to abolish the policy would be presented at the next meeting of the National Council on Education for consideration.
He noted that the planned reform is aimed at expanding access to education, improving transition rates from primary to secondary school and enhancing learning outcomes across the country.
Acknowledging previous shortcomings in the education sector, Alausa assured Nigerians that the current administration was committed to addressing the challenges.
“This government will not fail. We are fixing it,” he said.
At the event, 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 is expected to monitor the completion of the projects, ensure they are handed over to state governments and facilitate their commencement of academic activities.
Alausa noted that although UBEC had invested in hundreds of such schools nationwide, many of the projects remain uncompleted or have yet to admit learners, describing the situation as an inefficient use of public funds.
He charged the committee to ensure the projects are completed promptly and begin serving their intended purpose of improving access to quality education for Nigerian children.