The Federal Government has unveiled plans to phase out the Junior Secondary School (JSS) Common Entrance Examination, introducing a Learner Identification Number to monitor pupils from primary school through their entire academic journey.
Speaking to journalists in Lagos on Saturday, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, said the reforms aim to improve access to education and better track students across the country.
“The Common Entrance Exam will be replaced by Continuous Assessment (CA), reflecting a pupil’s performance from primary one onwards. Even if a child transfers to another school, their assessment record moves with them,” the Minister explained.
Alausa highlighted the urgency of the reforms, noting that millions of pupils in public primary schools fail to transition to secondary education. “We have over 50,000 public primary schools with more than 23 million pupils. Yet, only about 3 million continue to junior secondary school in public institutions. The question is: where are the remaining 20 million?” he asked.
He attributed the gap to a lack of access, urging state governments to build more schools to accommodate the growing population of learners.
To address monitoring challenges, the government plans to issue a unique Learner Identification Number to every pupil from primary school, ensuring students can be tracked even if they switch schools. “If a child is expected in JSS one and is absent, we will know why and take steps to address it,” Alausa said.
The Minister also disclosed plans to revive the school feeding programme, potentially shifting it to the Federal Ministry of Education for better oversight, as part of broader efforts to boost enrolment, retention, and completion rates in Nigerian schools.
These initiatives reflect the government’s commitment to strengthening the education sector and ensuring that more children complete their basic education successfully.
