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Education Reform Debate: NAPPS Warns Scrapping JSS & SSS Won’t Reduce Dropouts – The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) has stated that scrapping the Junior Secondary School (JSS) and Senior Secondary School (SSS) structure will not, on its own, address the growing problem of student dropouts in Nigeria.
Education Reform Debate: NAPPS Warns Scrapping JSS & SSS Won’t Reduce Dropouts
The association maintained that there is no empirical evidence linking the separation of Junior Secondary School (JSS) and Senior Secondary School (SSS) to the high rate of school dropouts, stressing that any proposed reforms should be based on data-driven insights rather than mere assumptions.
While thanking the Federal Government for finding ways to advance school retention and cub the number of out-of-school children, the association maintained that the country’s education crisis was rooted in broader socio-economic challenges.Education Reform Debate: NAPPS Warns Scrapping JSS & SSS Won’t Reduce Dropouts.
According to NAPPS, key factors fueling school dropout include poverty, insecurity, the rising cost of education, child labour, early marriage, inadequate school infrastructure, a shortage of qualified teachers, and weak enforcement of compulsory education laws.
Unless these underlying challenges are deliberately addressed, changing the administrative structure may produce only marginal improvements.”
NAPPS therefore advised the Federal Government to commission a comprehensive national study before taking a final decision on the proposal.
It said, “The proposed integration of Junior and Senior Secondary education should neither be accepted nor rejected based on assumptions or sentiments.
“It should be subjected to rigorous study, broad stakeholder engagement and careful policy calculations. If credible evidence ultimately demonstrates that such restructuring will improve educational outcomes without compromising access, quality, technical education pathways, student welfare or educational flexibility, NAPPS will endorse reforms that genuinely improve the best interests of Nigerian children.Education Reform Debate: NAPPS Warns Scrapping JSS & SSS Won’t Reduce Dropouts
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According to NAPPS, education reforms are more likely to prosper when those responsible for implementing them are actively involved in their structure.
The association further warned that eliminating the distinction between Junior Secondary School (JSS) and Senior Secondary School (SSS) could inadvertently undermine technical and vocational education by restricting the alternative pathways currently available to students after completing junior secondary education.Education Reform Debate: NAPPS Warns Scrapping JSS & SSS Won’t Reduce Dropouts.
It explained that the existing structure offers flexibility for learners whose interests and abilities align more with technical and vocational training. Many students, it noted, transition to technical colleges, vocational institutions, or skill acquisition programmes after JSS, where they gain practical skills essential for productive careers. The association stressed that any reform should protect these pathways rather than limit students’ educational options.
NAPPS also warns that joining the two levels could reverse progress made in curbing bullying in public schools. According to the association, the separation of JSS and SSS has cub incidents of bullying, as younger students are no longer required to share the same environment with significantly older peers. This, it added, has improve safety, boosted confidence, and improved the emotional well-being of younger adolescents. It therefore urged the government to carefully consider how these benefits would be sustained under any proposed restructuring.
EDUGISTNG MEDIA
