The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has called for the introduction of a compulsory 12-year uninterrupted basic education to replace the current Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) and Senior Secondary Schools system in the country.
Alausa spoke at the 2025 National Council on Education (NCE) meeting in Abuja on Thursday, February 6, 2025.
The meeting hosted the commissioners for education from the 36 states and the FCT, MDAs, and other development partners.
Alausa said phasing out the 6-3-3-4 model and introducing a 12-4 will reform education in Nigeria to align with ‘’global standards.”
Nigeria operates the 6–3–3–4 education system where a child enrolls in school at age six and undergoes six years each of primary and secondary education, at the end of which they are expected to be aged 18.
The minister said the government was seeking approval from the NCE to set 16 years as the minimum entry age for tertiary institutions.
He said subsuming secondary schools under basic education would provide uninterrupted learning until students turn 16.
Alausa said a 12-year basic education system would “reduce dropout rates by removing financial and systemic barriers.”
The minister added that the move would “standardise the curriculum and offer early vocational training to prepare students for higher education and employment.”
