Policy Not Bane Of Education

Last week, Thursday precisely, there was a report that the Federal Government was tinkering with the idea of a policy change from the current 6-3-3-4 education policy to a straight 12-4 mod­el. The difference being that it will be a straight 12 years primary and second­ary education without interruption and four years tertiary education.

Of course a lot of people were not impressed by the report, because even though it was later debunked, the half-hearted denial did not do much to dissuade the general feel­ing that indeed something along that line is still being planned, even though it is still in the works.

The Federal Ministry of Educa­tion had in dismissing the report said; “At the Extraordinary Na­tional Council on Education (NCE) Meeting held on February 6, 2025, in Abuja, the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, presented a proposal for discussion — not an immediate pol­icy change. The proposal seeks to migrate to 12 years of compulsory education while retaining the cur­rent 6-3-3 structure.

A key aspect of this proposal is to eliminate the examination barrier between JSS and SSS, allowing for a seamless transition of students without the hurdles of an external assessment at that stage. However, this is still a subject of consultation and deliberation.

“To ensure a well-informed deci­sion, the Ministry will undertake extensive stakeholder engagements over the next eight months, consult­ing widely with education policy­makers, state governments, teach­ers, parents, and other key players. The final decision on whether to adopt this reform will be made at the October 2025 National Council on Education Meeting.

“The Ministry urges the public to disregard the false claim that JSS and SSS have been scrapped. The Federal Government remains committed to policies that enhance access to quality education while aligning with global best practices.”

This denial is half-hearted because we all know that the mere fact that the proposal is coming from the minister means, every other thing would just be to fulfill all righteousness. If a Min­ister is presenting it, then it cannot be said that there will be any serious enough pobjection to prevent the Minister from having his way.

Before the introduction of the 6-3- 3-4 model, the 6-5-4 was in place.

The main aim of this policy is to provide students with a solid founda­tion in basic education, followed by more specialized education in sec­ondary school, and eventually, high­er education at the tertiary level. This structure is designed to ensure that students receive a well-rounded education and are adequately pre­pared to be engaged or they can opt to further their education.

The 6-3-3-4 policy also aims to pro­mote continuity and progression in education, allowing students to transition smoothly from one level to the next. Overall, the policy seeks to improve the quality and effective­ness of education in Nigeria, and to provide students with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in an increasingly competitive world.

It was felt that at the end of the first three years of learning in sec­ondary school, the students would have acquired sufficient skills in craftsmanship to enable them to be engaged, and provide that bad­ly needed workforce to the nation. It was believed that for those who may desire for further studies they would move up to the last three years of secondary education.

That policy was informed by the fact there was a growing population of unskilled and unemployable peo­ple with nothing to do and to reduce the too much emphasis placed on paper qualifications..

Today, the reality is that that challenge still confronts the nation. There is an alarming population of youths with no skills to be engaged.

The policy has not worked simply because we failed to provide an en­abling environment and necessary tools to make it work.

Whether we want to admit it or not, we do not have problems with for­mulating policies, but we have always fallen short when it comes to strict implementation. Again, no thanks to corruption and lack of political will.

Since not all students are inclined to pursue higher education, at what point are they likely to exit and do something else with their lives? Or is the Minister suggesting that after 12 years of uninterrupted education, the desired intentions of the formu­lators of the 6-3-3-4 model would still be met or would the students come out of it with nothing to do?

Today, artisans from our neigh­bouring countries are providing services that could have been easi­ly taken up by our youth. Builders, masons, tilers, mechanics, painters, bricklayers all come from our neigh­bouring countries while our youths are all busy looking for easy money through fraud, ritual killings and prostitution abroad.

There is nothing wrong with the 6-3-3-4 system, it was just never im­plemented as envisioned. We have to get serious for once, and stop pay­ing lip-service to education. In the emerging Fourth Industrial Revolu­tion (4IR), technology holds the ace, how prepared are we to fund educa­tion and how are we preparing our children for this future reality?

On a recent trip to a public sec­ondary school, I immediately felt pity for the teaching staff who are saddled with the burden of teaching over 70 students in a classroom, with some sitting on the floor. What out­come do we expect from students of a school with no Maths teacher and only one English teacher?

Why should the job of the local government councillors be more attractive than that of lecturers or teachers? Why have our state and federal governments failed to make teaching more attractive and employ teachers for our schools? Why are they more preoccupied with build­ing bridges and flyovers but not ad­equately funding education?

Our dear minister must know that changing a policy just for the fun of it has never and will never work. This is simply because all the pre­vious education policies were never seriously implemented, so this new one too will suffer the same fate of others before it.

Education remains the key to the desired future we seek. There is an urgent need now to declare a state of emergency in the education sector. We cannot continue to throw out a mass population of ill-equipped cit­izens and still hope to take our right­ful place in the comity of nations in the new emerging technological and scientific world.

If the minister is claiming that the 6-3-3-4 policy will still be in place but there would no longer be an ex­ternal exam to move from the first three years to the last three years of secondary education? Is he also saying the main objective of provid­ing skilled workers in those areas envisioned by the formulators of the policy would be a priority or he is only bothered about the current interregnum between the junior and senior secondary school education only?

So, one question I want to ask the Minister is, if he says there is really no change, is he willing to pursue the original objectives or intentions of the 6-3-3-4 policy of education and specialised skill acquisition?