FG to scrap JSS-SSS separation policy over rising school dropout crisis

The Federal Government has announced plans to phase out the policy separating Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) from Senior Secondary Schools (SSS), saying the arrangement has failed and contributed to the country’s growing school dropout crisis.

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

According to the minister, the disarticulation policy, which requires JSS and SSS to operate separately both physically and administratively, has led to overcrowded junior secondary schools while many senior secondary schools remain underutilised across several states.

Alausa said the policy placed administrative interests above the educational needs of students, leaving millions of children without a smooth transition to senior secondary education.

He revealed that more than 20 million students have dropped out between primary school and junior secondary school, attributing the situation partly to inadequate infrastructure and the imbalance in the number of schools.

“We have 20 million drop out from primary school to JSS. Where are those students? We have about 80,000 public primary schools but only about 15,000 junior secondary schools. That ratio is one to eight,” he said.

The minister noted that government data from states including Kaduna showed junior secondary schools operating beyond capacity while nearby senior secondary schools remained largely empty because both levels are managed separately with different principals.

He described the policy as unsuccessful, stressing that the current administration would prioritise reforms that improve access to education rather than create additional administrative positions.

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

He added that the proposal to abolish the policy would be presented at the next meeting of the National Council on Education for consideration as part of broader efforts to expand access to education and improve learning outcomes nationwide.