The Federal Government has announced plans to abolish the long-standing policy separating the administration of Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) from Senior Secondary Schools (SSS), declaring that the reform has failed and is fuelling the alarming rate of student dropouts across the country.
Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, made the declaration on Tuesday in Abuja while inaugurating the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Ministerial Implementation and Monitoring Committee for Smart Schools, Bilingual Schools and Alternative Schools.
Alausa said the disarticulation policy, which created separate management structures for junior and senior secondary schools, had outlived its usefulness and would be presented before the National Council on Education (NCE) for formal review and eventual abolition.
According to the minister, the policy has created needless administrative bottlenecks and weakened the transition of students from junior to senior secondary education.
“I can objectively report today that the disarticulation policy has failed. You cannot continue creating separate management structures simply because you want to create positions. It is not right. It is about doing what is best for our education system,” Alausa said.
He lamented that over 20 million students expected to progress from JSS to SSS are dropping out of school, describing the development as unacceptable.
“We have no problem getting children into junior secondary schools, but transitioning them into senior secondary schools has become a major challenge. This is one of the policies we have to phase out,” he added.
The minister directed officials of the Federal Ministry of Education to immediately prepare a position paper for presentation to the National Council on Education to facilitate the policy reversal.
Alausa also charged members of the newly inaugurated Ministerial Implementation and Monitoring Committee to fast-track the completion and operation of Smart Schools, Bilingual Schools and Alternative Schools across the country.
He stressed that the committee was created to accelerate implementation, eliminate bureaucratic delays and ensure government-funded educational projects begin delivering tangible benefits.
“This committee is about implementation, delivery and results. It is not about meetings or reports. Its success will be measured by how many schools become operational and begin educating Nigerian children,” he stated.
The minister directed the committee to ensure the completion of ongoing construction projects, installation of furniture and learning equipment, provision of electricity, water and internet connectivity, deployment of teachers and speedy enrolment of learners.
He warned against the continued abandonment of public educational infrastructure, insisting that every completed school left unused represents wasted public resources and denied opportunities for Nigerian children.
“Every day a completed school remains locked represents lost opportunities for thousands of Nigerian children. Every abandoned project represents resources that are not yielding educational value,” he said.
Alausa expressed confidence that all Smart Schools and Bilingual Schools nationwide would become operational before the end of the year, noting that similar implementation committees had successfully accelerated projects in federal universities.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Education would no longer measure success solely by completed projects on paper but by the educational outcomes they deliver to learners.
Earlier, Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr. Aisha Garba, said the Federal Government had recorded significant milestones under its flagship basic education programmes.
She disclosed that 37 Smart Schools have been established nationwide, with 24 already conducting academic activities, while the remaining schools are at various stages of completion and operational readiness.
Garba further revealed that 30 schools have been established under the UBEC-Islamic Development Bank Bilingual Education Programme across nine participating states.
According to her, three boarding schools have been completed and commissioned, while four others have reached substantial completion and are awaiting commissioning.
She added that the Alternative Schools Programme is expanding access to education for out-of-school children through flexible and inclusive learning opportunities.
Garba described the newly inaugurated ministerial committee as a strategic intervention that would strengthen collaboration among the Federal Ministry of Education, UBEC, state governments and other stakeholders while ensuring that government investments translate into fully functional schools delivering quality education to Nigerian children.
