Nigeria to Scrap Common Entrance Exams and Introduce Student ID Numbers

In a major overhaul of the national education system, the Federal Government of Nigeria has announced plans to abolish the long standing Junior Secondary School Common Entrance Examination. This decision, disclosed by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, marks a significant shift away from high stakes testing toward a more holistic evaluation process. 

The government intends to replace the traditional exam with a Continuous Assessment (CA) model, which will track a pupil's academic performance progressively from their very first year in primary school.

To support this new transition, the Ministry is introducing a unique Learner Identification Number (LIN) for every student. This digital tracking system is designed to follow a child throughout their entire academic journey, regardless of whether they transfer between schools or move across different states. 

By assigning a permanent ID to each learner, the government aims to create a reliable database that ensures no student "disappears" from the system during the critical transition from primary to secondary education.

The reform is largely driven by alarming statistics showing a massive drop off in school enrollment. According to recent data, while Nigeria has over 23 million pupils enrolled in public primary schools, only about 3 million of them successfully transition to junior secondary schools. 

This staggering gap of 20 million missing students has highlighted a crisis of access and retention that the government believes can only be solved by removing the bottleneck of a single, make or break entrance examination.

Beyond tracking, the Minister emphasized that this initiative will force a higher level of accountability for state governments. By identifying exactly where students are dropping out, the federal government can better pressure states to build more secondary schools to accommodate the millions currently left behind. 

Additionally, there are concurrent plans to revive and stabilize the National School Feeding Programme, integrating it more closely with these digital reforms to provide an extra incentive for families to keep their children in the classroom.

Educators and stakeholders have largely welcomed the move, noting that a continuous assessment approach reduces the immense psychological pressure placed on young children. By focusing on long-term growth rather than a one day test, the new system aims to foster a more genuine love for learning. 

As Nigeria moves toward a more data driven educational framework in 2026, the success of these reforms will ultimately depend on the seamless integration of the new ID system and the consistent funding of school infrastructure nationwide.