The Federal Ministry of Education released a new policy paper on Non-State Schools last week, which set the entry age for students seeking admission to junior secondary schools in Nigeria after completing six years of basic education at 12.
Non-state schools, often known as independent, private, or non-government schools, are educational institutions that are not run by the government.
They are typically funded through tuition payments and donations from people, businesses, communities, faith-based organisations, and foundations.
According to the strategy statement, non-state schools are progressively playing an important part in the country’s education provision, despite differences in the quality of education delivered between school categories.
Speaking on the age of enrolment, the Federal Ministry of Education stated, “Nursery education shall be of three years’ duration.
“Children shall be admitted into Nursery One when they attain the age of three years, Nursery Two on attaining the age of four, and one year of compulsory pre-primary education (Kindergarten) on attaining the age of five years, in accordance with the specification of Section 2(17) of the NPE, 2013 Edition.”
On the age of enrolment for junior secondary schools, the policy clearly specified that “Basic education shall be of nine years’ duration. There shall be a six-year primary and a three-year junior secondary school (JSS). 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 (6) years of primary education, at around the age of twelve (12) years.”
If this new policy is strictly enforced, Nigerian students would be required to reach the legal age of 18 before being admitted to higher education institutions.
The mandatory age of entry into Nigerian tertiary institutions has recently been the subject of debate.
Prof. Tahir Mamman, the former Minister of Education, announced 18 years as the minimum entry criteria, but the incoming minister, Dr. Tunji Alausa, reversed the policy to 16 years for university admission.
The Nigeria Education Digest 2022, published by the ministry, indicated that “Non-state schools outnumber state schools in at least 26 states of the federation at the junior secondary level, whereas at the primary level, state schools outnumber non-state schools in 19 states of the federation.
“The growth in the number of non-state schools between 2017 and 2022 (the last five years reported) has been faster than that of state schools.
“Non-state primary schools grew in number by 31.56 percent between 2017 and 2022, while state schools grew in number by 3.3 percent within the same period.
“At the junior secondary level, non-state schools grew in number by 35.06 percent between 2017 and 2022, while state schools grew in number by 6.8 percent only within the same period.”
