The Federal Government has officially established 12 years as the minimum age for admission into Junior Secondary School 1 (JSS 1), under a newly launched policy framework on non-state (private) schools by the Federal Ministry of Education.
The policy, which outlines the structure of basic education in Nigeria, mandates a nine-year basic education cycle—comprising six years of primary education and three years of junior secondary schooling.
According to the document obtained by The PUNCH, the framework reaffirms the growing influence of non-state schools in delivering education across Nigeria, while acknowledging persistent disparities in the quality of education provided across different school types.
The policy specifies a clear age-based progression for early childhood and basic education:
Nursery Education: Children will begin Nursery One at age three, Nursery Two at age four, and proceed to one year of compulsory pre-primary education (Kindergarten) at age five.
Primary Education: Admission into Primary One begins at age six, after which pupils must complete six consecutive years of schooling.
Junior Secondary School (JSS): Students will proceed to JSS1 upon successful completion of primary school, typically at age twelve.
This standardized progression means that students could be around 18 years old by the time they are ready to enter higher institutions, assuming no disruptions in their academic journey. The policy comes amid ongoing national conversations about appropriate age benchmarks for university admissions and access to tertiary education.
The report also emphasizes the rising prominence of non-state (private) schools in Nigeria’s education sector. Citing the Nigeria Education Digest 2022, the document notes that private schools now outnumber public schools at the junior secondary level in at least 26 states.
Between 2017 and 2022, the expansion rate of private schools significantly outpaced that of government-owned institutions:
Private primary schools recorded a 31.56% growth, compared to 3.3% for public ones.
Private junior secondary schools grew by 35.06%, while their public counterparts expanded by only 6.8%.
Despite this, public primary schools still outnumber private ones in 19 states, highlighting regional variations in school ownership and access.
The report concludes by underscoring the rapid proliferation of private institutions and their increasingly pivotal role in filling educational gaps, while calling attention to the need for quality assurance and equitable standards across both public and private sectors.
