Evolution of junior secondary school in Nigeria

Evolution of junior secondary school in Nigeria

Formal education in Nigeria began official in 1842. The Nigerian education system has gone through many changes and several stages of development. However, becoming one of the top educational systems in the world is perhaps, still far from the nearest future. Evolution of junior secondary school in Nigeria is closely related to the development of education system in Nigeria in general.

junior secondary school in Nigeria
Photo: nigeriantimes.ng
Source: UGC

Formal education in Nigeria or ''western education'' as it is often called came in 1842. But everything ended at primary level. The education in Nigeria was brought and established by Christian missionaries.

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Secondary school education began in 1859. CMS Grammar school was the first secondary school in Nigeria and was founded in Lagos.

Due to the number of different factors British colonial government did not influence education system in Nigeria. In 1872 the situation changed and British government began interfering and gave money for further educational development.

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In 1882 British colonial government made created a formal official document for education regulations and rules. Schools in Nigeria were divided into government and private schools. The first were meant to be financed by public funds. As for private schools, they received little public money.

For decades government tried to reconstruct education in Nigeria by employing foreign teachers and increasing the number of schools and establishing new ordinances. However, the first higher education institution in Nigeria was founded 73 years after the establishment of the first secondary school in Nigeria.

junior secondary school in Nigeria
Photo: newhallschool.com.ng
Source: UGC

Now All Nigerian primary and junior secondary schools have the 9-year basic educational curriculum (BEC). It consists of 20 subjects, but many people believed that the number of subjects should be to be from 6 to 13.

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The new plan consists of 8 subjects for primary 1-3, 9 subjects for primary 4-6 and 10 subjects for JSS 1-3.

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  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Cultural and Creative Arts
  • One Nigerian Language
  • Basic Science and Technology
  • Pre-Vocational Studies
  • Religion and National Values Education
  • French
  • Business Education
  • Arabic Language (optional)

Secondary education in Nigeria has a duration of 6 years: three years for junior level and three years for senior level.

Evolution of junior secondary school in Nigeria led to low tuition and fees in government owned schools. Junior secondary schools in Nigeria are compulsory. After finishing children are ready to enter senior secondary schools.

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Source: pubs.sciepub.com

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Adrianna Simwa avatar

Adrianna Simwa (Lifestyle writer) Adrianna Simwa is a content writer at Legit.ng where she has worked since mid-2022. She has written for many periodicals on a variety of subjects, including news, celebrities, and lifestyle, for more than three years. She has worked for The Hoth, The Standard Group and Triple P Media. Adrianna graduated from Nairobi University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in 2020. In 2023, Simwa finished the AFP course on Digital Investigation Techniques. You can reach her through her email: adriannasimwa@gmail.com