The Federal Government has actually unveiled plans to terminate the Junior Secondary School Common Entrance Examination and replace it with a nationwide trainee tracking structure anchored on a Student Recognition Number.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, divulged the proposition throughout an interactive session with journalists in Lagos on Saturday, outlining a series of reforms targeted at enhancing gain access to, monitoring, and development within the country’s education system.
Under the new plan, the existing entrance examination will be slowly removed and replaced with a constant assessment model that captures pupils’ scholastic efficiency from their early years in primary school. The minister described that this system would enable a more extensive examination of learners gradually, rather than counting on a single assessment.
He kept in mind that the continuous assessment records would follow pupils throughout their academic journey, including instances where they transfer in between schools. According to him, the approach is created to ensure continuity in scholastic records and provide a clearer image of each learner’s advancement.
The reform is likewise expected to attend to longstanding issues about the transition from main to junior secondary education, especially the considerable variety of students who stop working to progress to the next stage. Citing federal government information, the minister highlighted a stark space in enrolment figures.
Nigeria currently has more than 50,000 public primary schools with an estimated 23 million students. However, only somewhat above 3 countless these learners proceed to junior secondary schools within the general public system. The variation, he kept in mind, raises concerns about the whereabouts of countless school-age kids who are not accounted for at the secondary level.
The minister associated this space mostly to restricted gain access to, explaining that existing independent schools can not take in the shortfall. He stressed the requirement for state governments to broaden educational infrastructure to accommodate more trainees, exposing that conversations had actually already been accepted the Nigerian Governors’ Forum on the matter.
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As part of efforts to strengthen tracking, the federal government prepares to designate a distinct Learner Identification Number to every child from the point of entry into primary school. The identifier, according to the minister, will remain with each trainee regardless of school transfers, making it possible for authorities to track their academic progression nationwide.
He explained that the system would make it easier to identify and examine cases where students drop out or stop working to shift in between levels. By recognizing such gaps early, policymakers would be much better placed to implement targeted interventions.
In addition to these measures, the minister revealed that steps are being required to restore the school feeding programme as part of broader efforts to increase enrolment and retention in public schools. He included that there are considerations to move the programme under the guidance of the Federal Ministry of Education to boost oversight and effectiveness.
The proposed changes form part of a larger technique by the Federal Government to reform the education sector, enhance retention rates, and ensure that more Nigerian kids finish their basic education.