Nigerian govt proposes 12-year basic education model

The Nigerian government is considering integrating secondary school into basic education, creating a 12-year uninterrupted learning model.

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Speaking at the 2025 Extraordinary National Council on Education Meeting in Abuja on Thursday, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, said the plan would enable pupils to benefit from uninterrupted learning up to the age of 16.

Current model

The current education system is broken into 9-3-4. Nine years in basic education (comprising six years in primary school and the first three years of junior secondary) and another three years in senior secondary before they can aspire to continue at a tertiary institution.

Mr Alausa is proposing a system that merges the nine-year basic education with three years of secondary school to transition from 9-3-4 to 12-4.

Proposal

Mr Alausa said the proposal aligns with global best practices and ensures continuous, uninterrupted education.

“A 12-year basic education model will ensure a continuous, uninterrupted curriculum, promoting better standardisation and fostering quality assurance in the education system,” he said.

“It will also guarantee that students receive a more comprehensive and continuous learning experience, improve educational outcomes, and contribute to a more educated populace that drives Nigeria’s economic development.”

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He added that it would improve access, retention and completion and ultimately reduce dropout rates “by eliminating financial and systemic barriers that currently prevent students from completing secondary education.”

The proposal will be considered at the NCE meeting, the highest decision-making body in the sector, which brought together commissioners for education from the 36 states and the FCT, heads of agencies, and international organisations.

Age requirement for admission

Mr Alausa is also proposing the adoption of 16 years of age as a requirement for admission into tertiary institutions.

Last year, the former education minister, Tahir Mamman, directed the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and tertiary institutions not to admit students who are below the age of 18.

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Mr Mamman said his decision was informed by the education policy which requires pupils to be at age six before enrolling into primary school where they spend six years before another six years in secondary school.

But his pronouncements met grumbling at the JAMB policy meeting with heads of tertiary institutions, where he made the pronouncements.

The meeting, however, agreed to place the age limit at 16 for 2024 since candidates already sat the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which serves as an entrance examination into tertiary institutions, unaware of the age policy.

However, upon Mr Mamman’s removal and Mr Alausa’s appointment into the ministry, Mr Alausa reversed the policy and pegged it at 16.