The Federal Government will introduce a Learner Identification Number (LIN) to track pupils’ progress and replace common entrance exams with continuous assessment
FG Introduces Learner Identification Number, Plans to Phase Out JSS Entrance Exams in Nigeria
The Federal Government has unveiled plans to introduce a Learner Identification Number (LIN) for pupils starting from primary school, in a major move aimed at tracking students’ academic journeys across the country.
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed the initiative during an interactive session with journalists in Lagos, highlighting deep concerns over the alarming drop-off rate between primary and secondary education.
“We have over 50,000 public primary schools in the country with over 23 million pupils. However, from statistics available to us, only a little over 3 million among those pupils move to the junior secondary school level in our public schools, then the question is, where are the about 20 million not enrolled in our public secondary schools?” he said.
He added, “It is obvious that we cannot say our private schools accommodate all of them.”
According to the minister, the gap points clearly to limited access to education, a challenge the government is now prioritising.
“The issue is simply lack of access and we are working on that. There is need to build more schools and I have met the Nigerian Governors’ Forum over that. State governments need to build more schools to accommodate more pupils and students,” he stated.
To address the tracking challenge, Alausa explained that the LIN system will assign every child a unique identification number that follows them throughout their academic journey.
“To also follow up on our pupils and students, we are introducing the Learner Identification Number right from primary school level for our children. It will be unique to each child and they will have the number no matter where they started schooling or later transferred to.”
He added, “If somebody is expected to be in JSS class one and he is not there, we will be able to know the reason why he is not continuing his education.”
In another major reform, the Federal Government is set to phase out the long-standing common entrance examination for pupils transitioning into junior secondary school.
“It will be replaced by Continuous Assessment, CA. The CA will reflect the performance of the pupil from primary one and even if a pupil is transferring from one school to another, he will take it along to his new school,” Alausa explained.
The minister also revealed plans to revive the school feeding programme as part of efforts to boost enrolment and retention in public schools.
He hinted that the programme would soon be moved from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure more effective monitoring and implementation. Read More
