
The Federal Ministry of Education has introduced a new national policy mandating that pupils must attain the age of 12 years before gaining admission into Junior Secondary School 1 (JSS1), having completed the mandatory six years of primary education.
Outlined in a recently released policy document guiding Non-State Schools (commonly called private or independent institutions), the directive reaffirms the structure of basic education in Nigeria as a nine-year programme comprising six years of primary and three years of junior secondary schooling.
According to the document, obtained by The PUNCH, underscores the increasing role of non-state schools in the nation’s education sector, albeit with significant disparities in quality compared to government-run schools.
On pre-primary education, the Ministry specifies a three-year nursery cycle:
Nursery One begins at age three
Nursery Two at age four
Kindergarten (compulsory pre-primary) at age five
In line with the 2013 edition of the National Policy on Education, children are to be enrolled in Primary One at age six. Following the full six-year primary education, pupils may only progress to JSS1 at age 12.
If strictly enforced, this new guideline implies that students may not become eligible for tertiary education until around the age of 18. The announcement emerges amid recent debates on the appropriate age for university admission in Nigeria.
The policy also reflects a broader shift, as non-state schools now outnumber public schools at the junior secondary level in at least 26 states, according to data from the Nigeria Education Digest 2022. Between 2017 and 2022:
Non-state primary schools grew by 31.56%
Non-state junior secondary schools grew by 35.06%
In contrast, state schools witnessed a modest growth of 3.3% at the primary level and 6.8% at the junior secondary level during the same period.
This new directive is expected to recalibrate admission procedures in private schools nationwide, aligning them more closely with national education standards while aiming to improve quality and equity across the system.