The 12-year basic compulsory education system being proposed for Nigeria is quite laudable. The system, being proposed by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, seeks a transition from the current 9-3-4 structure to a 12-4 model.
Although the new proposal only slightly differs from the current structure, it is still foresighted and more felicitous because, if it is eventually adopted, it will usher in an uninterrupted learning process for the pupils from the primary school to the secondary level.
The country currently runs nine years of basic education, three years of senior secondary education and four years of tertiary education. But as it is being proposed, pupils will spend the normal six years in the primary school and and another uninterrupted six years in the secondary, making 12 years of compulsory basic education. The proposed system will still run within the current structure, but unlike the current model where the pupils have to pause to write a Junior Secondary School Examination, popularly known as Basic Education Certificate Examination(BECE) at JSS3, the pupils under the new system will continue without any break till they write the main West African Certificate Examination (WAEC).
In other words, the examination barrier between the current Junior Secondary School (JSS) and the Senior Secondary School (SSS) will be eliminated outright, “allowing for a seamless transition of students without the hurdles of an external assessment at that stage.”
The proposal was made public at the 2025 Extraordinary National Council of Education (NCE) meeting in Abuja penultimate Thursday. The meeting of the NCE, the highest policy making organ in the education sector, was primarily conveyed to deliberate on the newly proposed system and the approval of a national policy on bullying.
Elucidating the proposal at the NCE parley, the minister revealed that the reform, which he said, is not an immediate policy change, is partly being proposed to align Nigeria’s education system with global standards. He explained: “It is important to acknowledge that while the 9-3-4 system of education has its merits, it also has drawbacks, such as the need for students to work in order to further their education”.
It is thus prudent to transit from the 9-3-4 to the 12-4 system of education, so that Nigeria will align with global standards in preparing students for better tertiary education, he contended. Alausa said part of the benefits of the proposed 12-year basic education system is its potential to provide a more structured and uninterrupted learning experience.
“A 12-year basic education model will ensure a continuous, uninterrupted curriculum, promoting better standardisation and fostering quality assurance in the education system.
“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,” Alausa explained.
He asserted: “If you look back into the history of Nigeria, 40 years ago, people who went through primary education then and got up to Standard 6, if you compare the level of education, the level of instruction, even at Standard 3 then, it’s much better than what we get in JSS 3 now. And today, our quality of instruction and education is falling, and if we let these kids continue to graduate with nine years of compulsory education, we’re literally just training illiterates. We’re not preparing them for the future.
“So, keeping the nine years of compulsory education would not be sufficient for our children, and that’s why we’re thinking; we’re proposing that we move to 12 years of compulsory education. And I want to reassure you, this will still stay within the ambit of our primary school, JSS and SSS.”
Expectedly, the proposal has been generating diverse reactions from stakeholders. While some oppose it, preferring that the current system be retained, others laud it. Some of the critics argue that the new system will lower the quality of education by eliminating the examination barrier between JSS and SSS.
Michael Ojonugwa, an educationist, said he would still prefer the 6-3-3-4 system to the proposed 12 years of basic education, if he has a choice. He contended that the system prepares students for challenges, knowing that they have to sit for the common entrance examination and junior secondary examination.
He said: “There is a way the students prepare for examinations and the level of seriousness they put into it because they want to be at the next level. So, stopping it and saying they should just progress will only reduce pressure on the students, but will kill their motivation to excel through serious learning.”
Changing policies or recycling some ideas, Ojonugwa argued, rather than solve the problems in the sector, solves one problem only to create another. He warned that introducing the uninterrupted 12 years’ model will make the standard of education to drop because all the preparations that students put in for the next level examinations, will be jettisoned.
Sophia Emmanuel, a teacher, maintained a middle-of-the-road stance, saying that the proposed educational system will enable uninterrupted 12 years of basic education by eliminating the break to write the junior secondary examination(BECE). But she added that although stopping the examination will reduce pressure on students, but it may affect the way they put efforts in their studies.
We believe the proposed policy is apt. One of its gains that endears it to the average parents is the elimination of BECE, which has daunted a lot of struggling parents financially and simultaneously exacted serious pressure from students.
Paying for BECE has been a punishing nightmare for most vulnerable parents because the fees are relatively high in many states, more so for those who often have more than one pupil to cater for. Along the line, some students actually drop out of school at the JSS level, even without being able to write the examination.
The argument that eliminating the junior secondary school examination will lower the quality of education appears to be vacuous because, even though BECE will be done away with, the pupils will still have to write the normal internal promotion examination to transit to each of the classes in the 12-year basic system.
Besides, one challenge that has over the years largely contributed to the gradual erosion of quality education is the average teacher’s nadir of vexatious career frustrations, accentuated by tawdry, beggarly pay package, especially in many private primary and secondary schools.
It is a vicious circle that negatively affects the quality of teachers, a development, which in turn imperils the quality of teaching. The situation is, however, slightly better in many federal and state public schools where teachers have been entrenched in the civil service salary structures.
We, therefore, admonish that conscious efforts be made to improve the quality of education alongside, as the federal and state authorities move to implement the proposed education system whenever it is eventually adopted. We also implore private schools to tag along by paying reasonable wages to be able to attract qualified teachers to enhance their teaching output.
The National President of Association of Model Islamic Schools, Mallam Saleh Kwaru, argues along this line, saying that the proposed policy holds significant promise for improving the nation’s educational landscape.
He believes the successful implementation of the reform hinges on several critical factors, which include developing a comprehensive curriculum that is both relevant and engaging; designing effective assessment strategies and establishing clear guidelines for implementation across all schools.
Kwaru posits that substantial investment in educational infrastructure is paramount. He said: “This means building new classrooms, upgrading existing facilities and ensuring access to adequate learning resources, including textbooks, technology and laboratories.
“High-quality teacher training is absolutely vital. Teachers must be adequately prepared to deliver the new curriculum effectively, utilize modern teaching methodologies, and cater to the diverse learning needs of students.”
We cannot agree more!
