Government Announces End of Disarticulation Policy
The Federal Government has declared its intention to scrap the policy that separates Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) from Senior Secondary Schools (SSS), stating that the policy has not enhanced educational access and has instead worsened the crisis of out-of-school children in Nigeria. Education Minister Dr Tunji Alausa made the announcement on Tuesday, June 30, during the inauguration of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Ministerial Implementation and Monitoring Committee in Abuja.
Massive Dropout Rates Between Primary and JSS
According to government data presented by the minister, more than 20 million pupils who completed primary education have been unable to transition to junior secondary school. This gap is largely attributed to inadequate infrastructure and the current disarticulation policy. Dr Alausa highlighted the stark disparity: Nigeria has approximately 80,000 public primary schools but only about 15,000 junior secondary schools, creating a severe bottleneck in the education pipeline.
“We have over 20 million pupils dropping out between primary school and JSS. We have 80,000 public primary schools but only about 15,000 junior secondary schools. Government has not done enough in this regard, but this administration is determined to fix the problem,” he said.
Overcrowding and Underutilisation in Northern States
The minister noted that the separation of junior and senior secondary schools into distinct administrative units has led to overcrowding in JSS while SSS facilities remain underutilised in many states. He cited examples from Kaduna and other northern states where one principal manages a JSS and another manages an SSS on the same campus, leading to inefficiencies.
“We have seen this in Kaduna and other northern states, where one principal manages the JSS, and another manages the SSS. The JSS is overcrowded while the senior secondary school remains underutilised. I can confidently say that the disarticulation policy has failed. We will phase it out because we cannot continue creating administrative positions at the expense of our children’s education,” he said.
Next Steps: National Council on Education Approval
Dr Alausa confirmed that the proposal to abolish the JSS-SSS separation will be presented at the next meeting of the National Council on Education for consideration and adoption. This move is expected to streamline the education system, improve resource utilisation, and reduce the number of out-of-school children by ensuring smoother transitions from primary to secondary education.
