The Federal Government of Nigeria has unveiled a sweeping reform in the basic education system aimed at tackling declining school transition rates and improving accountability across the sector. The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the policy shift during an engagement with journalists in Lagos, highlighting concerns over millions of pupils who fail to progress from primary to junior secondary school.
According to the government, the reform is part of a broader effort to strengthen data-driven decision-making, improve learning outcomes, and ensure that every child remains within the education system. With over 23 million pupils enrolled in public primary schools nationwide, authorities say the gap in progression to secondary school has become a pressing national concern.
Why The Common Entrance Examination Was Scrapped
The Federal Government said the decision to phase out the Junior Secondary School Common Entrance Examination is driven by systemic challenges within the education sector, particularly the large number of pupils who do not transition to the next level.
Providing insight into the situation, the minister noted:
“We have over 50,000 public primary schools in the country with over 23 million pupils. However, from statistics available to us, only a little over 3 million among those pupils move to the junior secondary school level in our public schools, then the question is, where are the about 20 million not enrolled in our public secondary schools?”
He described the trend as a serious access issue rather than a performance problem, pointing to inadequate infrastructure and limited school capacity across states.
“It is obvious that we cannot say our private schools accommodate all of them. The issue is simply lack of access and we are working on that.
There is need to build more schools and I have met the Nigerian Governors’ Forum over that. State governments need to build more schools to accommodate more pupils and students,” he said.
The government believes the existing examination system may contribute to exclusion, particularly for pupils in underserved communities, and that removing it will create a more inclusive pathway into secondary education.
What Has Been Introduced Instead And How It Works
In place of the scrapped examination, the government is introducing a Continuous Assessment (CA) model alongside a nationwide Learner Identification Number system to track every child’s academic journey.
Explaining the new approach, the minister stated:
“It will be replaced by Continuous Assessment, CA. The CA will reflect the performance of the pupil from primary one and even if a pupil is transferring from one school to another, he will take it along to his new school.”
The Continuous Assessment system is designed to evaluate pupils based on their performance over time rather than a single examination, ensuring a more holistic and fair measurement of learning progress.
In addition, each pupil will be assigned a unique Learner Identification Number from the early stages of schooling.
“To also follow up on our pupils and students, we are introducing the Learner Identification Number right from primary school level for our children. It will be unique to each child and they will have the number no matter where they started schooling or later transferred to,” he explained.
The tracking system is expected to help education authorities monitor enrolment, identify dropouts, and ensure that no child is left behind.
“If somebody is expected to be in JSS class one and he is not there, we will be able to know the reason why he is not continuing his education,” Alausa said.
As part of the broader reform efforts, the government is also considering reviving the school feeding programme to encourage enrolment and retention, with plans to improve oversight by placing it under the education ministry.
The decision to scrap the Common Entrance Examination marks a significant shift in Nigeria’s education policy, moving away from a one-time testing system to a more inclusive and continuous evaluation model.
With the introduction of the Learner Identification Number and renewed focus on infrastructure and student tracking, the Federal Government aims to address long-standing gaps in access and retention. If effectively implemented, the reform could improve transition rates, reduce dropout levels, and create a more transparent and efficient education system that supports every child’s academic journey.
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