The Federal Government has announced plans to abolish the Junior Secondary School Common Entrance Examination and replace it with a continuous assessment-based system, alongside the introduction of a national learner tracking framework.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this during an interactive session with journalists in Lagos.
Shift to continuous assessment
According to the minister, the common entrance examination will be phased out and replaced with Continuous Assessment (CA), which will evaluate pupils’ performance from primary one through their transition into secondary school.
“It will be replaced by Continuous Assessment… even if a pupil is transferring from one school to another, he will take it along,” Alausa said.
The reform is designed to ensure a more holistic evaluation of students, rather than relying on a single examination.
Addressing the education gap
Alausa raised concerns about the significant gap between primary and secondary school enrolment in Nigeria.
He revealed that while over 23 million pupils are enrolled in more than 50,000 public primary schools, only about 3 million transition to junior secondary school, leaving nearly 20 million children out of the system.
“The issue is simply lack of access… State governments need to build more schools,” he stated.
Introduction of Learner Identification Number
As part of the reforms, the government will introduce a Learner Identification Number (LIN)—a unique ID assigned to each pupil.
This number will:
- Track students across schools and states
- Monitor academic progress over time
- Help identify and address dropout cases early
“If somebody is expected to be in JSS1 and is not there, we will know why,” the minister explained.
School feeding programme revival
To further boost enrolment and retention, the government plans to revive the school feeding programme, with possible oversight moved to the Ministry of Education for improved implementation.
Bigger picture
The reforms are part of broader efforts to:
- Improve access to basic education
- Increase retention rates
- Strengthen data-driven decision-making in the education sector
Overall, the policy signals a shift toward a more integrated and technology-driven education system aimed at ensuring that more Nigerian children not only enrol in school but complete their basic education.