The Federal Government has announced plans to abolish the long-standing policy that separates Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) from Senior Secondary Schools (SSS), following concerns that over 20 million Nigerian children have dropped out of school before reaching senior secondary level.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed the proposed policy shift on Tuesday in Abuja during the inauguration of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Ministerial Implementation and Monitoring Committee.

According to Alausa, the existing “disarticulation policy,” which requires junior and senior secondary schools to operate independently with separate principals, management structures, and facilities, has failed to achieve its objectives and has instead worsened access to education nationwide.

The minister is expected to present a formal proposal to scrap the policy at the next meeting of the National Council on Education (NCE), the highest education policymaking body in the country.

He raised alarm over the scale of school dropouts, saying: “We have 20 million dropouts from primary school to JSS. Where are those students?”

He also pointed to a major imbalance in school infrastructure, stating: “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 explained that the disparity has created severe bottlenecks in the education system, leading to overcrowded junior secondary schools while many senior secondary school facilities remain underutilised.

He cited Kaduna and several northern states as examples where the current structure has contributed to low transition rates between basic and secondary education.

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

The minister added that the planned reform forms part of broader efforts by the Tinubu administration to expand access to education, improve retention, and strengthen learning outcomes across the country.

He acknowledged past shortcomings in addressing the out-of-school children crisis but expressed confidence in the current administration’s ability to reverse the trend.

“This government will not fail. We are fixing it,” Alausa declared.

During the same event, Alausa also inaugurated the UBEC Ministerial Implementation and Monitoring Committee, chaired by Prof. Rashid Aderinoye, which will oversee the rollout of UBEC-funded Smart Schools, Bilingual Schools, and Alternative Schools nationwide.

He tasked the committee with ensuring that projects are completed, handed over to state governments, and made fully operational for teaching and learning.

While noting that UBEC has invested in hundreds of Smart Schools and related projects across the country, the minister expressed concern that many remain abandoned, unfinished, or unused, describing the situation as a waste of public resources.

He stressed that building schools alone is not enough, insisting that completed facilities must be activated to benefit learners effectively.