Millions Missing From Classrooms: FG Moves to Track Every Child, Scrap Common Entrance Exam

For years, Mrs. Adebisi, a petty trader in Agege, watched two of her children stop schooling after primary six, not because they failed, but because there was no nearby secondary school she could afford. Stories like hers are part of the reality the Federal Government now says it wants to change, as new reforms are being proposed to ensure that every Nigerian child can be tracked and supported throughout their education. 

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has announced that the government plans to phase out the Junior Secondary School Common Entrance Examination and introduce a new system that will follow pupils from primary school until they complete their academic journey.

Speaking during an interaction with journalists in Lagos, the minister said the reform is aimed at tackling the growing number of children who disappear from the school system after primary education.

According to him, the common entrance examination will gradually give way to a Continuous Assessment method, which will record the performance of pupils from their early years in school.

Under the new plan, every child will also be assigned a Learner Identification Number, a unique code that will remain with the pupil regardless of transfers between schools or relocation to another state.

Education officials believe the new system will make it easier to know when a child drops out of school and why, instead of losing track of millions of pupils every year.

Government data shows that Nigeria has more than 50,000 public primary schools with over 23 million pupils, yet only about three million move on to junior secondary schools in the public system. The huge gap, authorities say, points to a serious problem of access rather than lack of interest in education.

The minister noted that many communities simply do not have enough secondary schools to absorb the number of children finishing primary education, forcing some to stay at home or enter informal work.

To address this, the Federal Government has begun discussions with state governments on the need to build more schools, especially in underserved areas where children must travel long distances to continue their studies.

The proposed reforms also include plans to revive the school feeding programme, which previously helped attract pupils to public schools, particularly in low-income communities.

Education experts say the new tracking system, if properly implemented, could help authorities identify children at risk of dropping out early and provide support before they leave the classroom permanently.

For parents like Mrs. Adebisi, the hope is simple that no child will finish primary school and have nowhere to go next.