Federal Government To Scrap Junior, Senior Secondary School Separation After 20 Million Pupils Dropped Out — Education Minister

Abuja, Nigeria– The Federal Government has announced plans to phase out the policy separating Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) from Senior Secondary Schools (SSS), admitting that the system has failed as more than 20 million pupils dropped out before reaching senior secondary education.

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.

According to the minister, the “disarticulation policy,” which requires junior and senior secondary schools to operate independently with separate principals and facilities, has not achieved its intended objectives and has instead worsened access to 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,” Alausa said.

He explained that the shortage of junior secondary schools has resulted in overcrowded classrooms, while many senior secondary schools remain underutilised, citing Kaduna and several northern states as examples.

“This disarticulation policy has failed. We will phase it out. We can’t be creating positions because we want to create a director-level position for people while we harm our education system. It’s about doing what is best for every Nigerian child,” the minister stated.

Alausa revealed that the proposal to abolish the policy would be presented at the next meeting of the National Council on Education for consideration and approval.

He said the planned reform is part of broader efforts by the Federal Government to increase school enrolment, improve transition rates between education levels and reduce the country’s growing number of out-of-school children.

Acknowledging previous shortcomings in the education sector, the minister pledged that the current administration would reverse the trend.

“This government will not fail. We are fixing it,” he said.

At the event, Alausa also inaugurated the UBEC Ministerial Implementation and Monitoring Committee, chaired by Professor Rashid Aderinoye, to oversee the completion and operationalisation of UBEC-funded Smart Schools, Bilingual Schools and Alternative Schools across the country.

The committee was tasked with ensuring that the projects are completed, handed over to state governments and opened for academic activities.

The minister lamented that many of the schools remain abandoned or have yet to admit learners despite significant public investment, describing the situation as a waste of taxpayers’ money.

Nigeria continues to grapple with one of the world’s largest out-of-school children populations, with millions of school-age children—particularly those in rural, insurgency-affected and economically disadvantaged communities—remaining outside the formal education system.