FG has moved to end JSS–SSS separation policy over 20 million dropout crisis.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Federal Government has announced plans to phase out the policy separating Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) from Senior Secondary Schools (SSS), following alarming data showing that more than 20 million pupils drop out before reaching senior secondary education.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja during the inauguration of the 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 intended objectives.
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According to him, the current structure has worsened access to education and contributed to major systemic imbalance across the country.
“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.
The minister explained that the mismatch has resulted in overcrowding at junior secondary level, while many senior secondary schools remain underutilised, particularly in states such as Kaduna and across parts of northern Nigeria.
“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.
Alausa said the proposal to scrap the policy will be presented at the next meeting of the National Council on Education for final consideration.
He noted that the reform is aimed at improving access, strengthening transition rates, and ensuring better learning outcomes across basic and post-basic education.
While acknowledging past efforts to address Nigeria’s out-of-school children crisis, the minister insisted that the current administration is committed to fixing systemic failures in the education sector.
“This government will not fail. We are fixing it,” he said.
At the same event, the minister inaugurated a committee chaired by Prof. Rashid Aderinoye to oversee UBEC-funded Smart Schools, Bilingual Schools, and Alternative Education programmes.
The committee is tasked with ensuring that projects are completed, commissioned, and fully operational for learners across the country.
The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has invested in hundreds of such projects nationwide, but many remain incomplete or unused.
Alausa described the situation as a waste of public resources and stressed the need for accountability and proper project delivery.
Nigeria continues to face one of the world’s largest out-of-school children populations, with millions of school-age children, especially in rural and conflict-affected regions, still without access to formal education.
Education experts say addressing the crisis requires not only building new schools but ensuring that existing facilities are functional, adequately staffed, and accessible to learners across all communities.
