The Federal Ministry of Education has introduced a new policy framework that sets the minimum admission age into Junior Secondary School 1 (JSS1) at 12 years old for pupils in non-state schools.
The directive, which is part of a
broader restructuring of the country’s basic education system, mandates that children must first complete six years of primary school before progressing to junior secondary level.
According to the policy document obtained by The PUNCH, basic education in Nigeria will now be standardized to span nine years—six years of primary and three years of junior secondary education.
The admission age structure begins with nursery education: children are to be enrolled into Nursery One at age three, move to Nursery Two at age four, and proceed to one year of pre-primary (Kindergarten) at age five.
The document states: “Children shall be admitted into Primary One when they attain the age of six years. Every child must complete six years of primary education. They shall be admitted into Junior Secondary School (JSS1) when they have completed six years of primary education, at around the age of twelve.”
This change may extend the average age of entry into higher education institutions to around 18 years if implemented rigorously, raising new concerns amid ongoing debates about age requirements for tertiary education in Nigeria.
The focus of this policy is on non-state schools—privately owned institutions not operated by the government. These schools have grown rapidly in recent years and now outnumber state schools in junior secondary education across at least 26 states of the federation.
According to the Nigeria Education Digest 2022, non-state schools have recorded significant growth between 2017 and 2022. Non-state primary schools grew by 31.56%, while state primary schools only expanded by 3.3%. At the junior secondary level, the growth was even starker: non-state schools increased by 35.06%, compared to 6.8% growth in government-run schools.
The Ministry acknowledged disparities in education quality across school categories but emphasized the critical role non-state schools continue to play in national education delivery.
