The Federal Government has unveiled plans to abolish the Junior Secondary School (JSS) Common Entrance Examination, proposing a shift to a continuous assessment system to improve access to education and better track students’ academic progress nationwide.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the initiative during an interactive session with journalists in Lagos on Saturday, describing it as a key reform to address persistent challenges in the transition from primary to secondary education.
Under the proposed system, pupils will be evaluated through continuous assessment (CA) from primary one, with academic records maintained throughout their schooling. These records will follow students even if they transfer between schools.
Alausa explained that the new approach would provide a more comprehensive picture of each pupil’s performance over time, replacing the one-off entrance examination.
The reform is driven by alarming enrolment statistics. According to the minister, although over 23 million pupils are enrolled in public primary schools across more than 50,000 institutions, only slightly above 3 million advance to junior secondary school level.
He raised concerns about the large number of pupils who do not transition, noting that private schools cannot account for the gap. He attributed the situation largely to limited access to secondary education and called for increased investment in school infrastructure.
To address this, the Federal Government is working with state authorities to expand the number of schools and accommodate more students.
In addition, the government plans to introduce a Learner Identification Number for every pupil starting from the primary level. The unique ID will enable authorities to monitor students’ academic journeys and identify those who drop out.
The minister said the system would help track children expected to progress to JSS but fail to do so, allowing authorities to investigate and address the reasons behind their absence.
Alausa also revealed ongoing efforts to revive the school feeding programme as part of measures to boost enrolment and retention in public schools. The government is considering placing the programme under the supervision of the Ministry of Education to improve its effectiveness.
