The Federal Government has proposed a major reform in Nigeria’s education system by scrapping the Junior and Senior Secondary School (JSS, SSS) structure and replacing it with a 12-year uninterrupted basic education model. Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, made this known during the 2025 extraordinary meeting of the National Council on Education (NCE) in Abuja on Thursday.
He explained that the current 6-3-3-4 system—which consists of six years of primary education, three years of junior secondary, three years of senior secondary, and four years of tertiary education—would be replaced with a 12-4 structure to align with global standards.
According to Alausa, merging secondary education into a single 12-year basic education program will ensure continuous learning until students reach age 16. He emphasized that this change will help reduce dropout rates by eliminating financial and systemic barriers, standardizing the curriculum, and integrating early vocational training to better prepare students for higher education and the job market.
Additionally, the minister revealed that the government is seeking approval from the NCE to set 16 years as the minimum entry age for tertiary institutions, ensuring students are adequately prepared before proceeding to higher education.
