Nigeria plans to overhaul its basic education system, moving to a 12-year model

CITING the need for improvement, Nigeria is reworking its basic education programme. But progress does not lie only in changing systems just for the sake of it. It requires serious measures targeted at enhancing standards and adapting to current societal needs.

Nigeria operated a five-year secondary school system and an optional two-year sixth form class. It scrapped it and introduced the 6-3-3-4 system in 1982 as part of the National Policy on Education.

Under this system, pupils sit for the Basic Education Certificate Examination at the end of JSS3. Thereafter, they proceed to senior secondary school where they sit for the School Certificate Examination at the end of SS3.

On June 30, the Federal Government announced plans to abolish this policy. It now favours the 12-year basic education model, which removes the external examination requirement between junior and senior secondary school.

The proposal, which will be presented at the next meeting of the National Council on Education for approval, is to ensure a “more structured and continuous learning experience” and to avoid a sharp drop-off of students after JSS3.

At the inauguration of the Universal Basic Education Commission Ministerial Implementation and Monitoring Committee in Abuja recently, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, explained that the decision was in the wake of evidence, which showed that the 6-3-3-4 policy worsened access to education across the country.

Out of about 24 million children enrolled in primary schools, he said only about four million of them completed senior secondary school. “We have 20 million dropouts from primary school to junior secondary school. Where are those students?” he wondered.

Alausa had made a similar proposal in February 2025. He said the aim was to align Nigeria’s education system with global standards in preparing students for tertiary education.

Nevertheless, the problem with Nigeria’s education sector is not the system but with strict implementation and funding of any adopted system.

The 6-3-3-4 system sounded good when it was adopted. After their JSS3, students considered less academically capable are supposed to further their education by learning a trade. But the vocational aspect of the curriculum has not been properly implemented.

Besides, there is learning poverty in Nigeria. According to Alausa, about three out of four children at the basic education level are unable to read and understand an age-appropriate text by the age of 10.

The World Bank, in a 2024 assessment, reported that 72.6 per cent of Nigerian children aged 7-14 cannot read and understand a simple text.

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Was it the system that caused this? Chronic underinvestment in modern teaching skills and school infrastructure is largely to blame.

As the minister rightly noted, the solution lies partly in transforming teaching and learning through digital technology.

In the United Kingdom, education has evolved, reflecting societal changes and the need to adapt to them. From the rigid system of the past, it evolved into the current technology-driven system.

Instructively, the UK has had a few major structural overhauls of its basic education system since the 19th century. They include the 1870 Forster Education Act or Elementary Education Act, which established universal primary education as a right and obligation for all children.

Also, there was the 1944 Education Act, known as the Butler Act, which introduced the tripartite system in secondary education comprising grammar, technical, and secondary modern schools.

The Comprehensive Schools of the 1960s to 1970s phased out the tripartite system for comprehensive education that promoted equality and inclusivity; while the 1988 Education Reform Act ensured that all students received broad and balanced education.

The advent of the 20th and 21st centuries saw the rise in the use of computers, the internet, and digital technology in teaching and learning. Most commonly used are interactive whiteboards, audiovisual aids, E-learning platforms, and online resources.

Emphasis is placed more on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education, as well as creativity and innovation.

Education reforms become inevitable either when there are serious problems with the previous curriculum, or there is a need to raise standards, or there are changes in societal needs and national challenges, among others.

For Nigeria’s proposed new policy to succeed, there must be state-level counterpart funding, investment in basic infrastructure and digital technology, as well as teacher retraining. Budgetary allocation to the education sector must significantly improve.

Without these, changing policies and systems will amount to chasing shadows.