Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has unveiled a major reform plan to abolish the National Common Entrance Examination and replace it with a centralised Learner Identification Number (LIN) system to track students nationwide.
Speaking during a media interaction in Lagos, Alausa explained that the reform aims to improve access to education while enabling better monitoring of pupils’ academic progress across the country.
Under the proposed system, the current exam-based transition from primary to secondary school will be replaced with continuous assessment (CA).
This means pupils will be evaluated based on cumulative academic performance from primary one, rather than a single high-stakes examination.
Alausa noted that the new approach will allow students to move between schools seamlessly, with their academic records tied to their unique learner ID and transferred accordingly.
Highlighting the urgency of the reform, the minister revealed a significant gap in student progression.
With over 50,000 public primary schools and more than 23 million pupils enrolled, only slightly above 3 million transition into junior secondary schools within the public system.
He questioned the whereabouts of the remaining pupils, stressing that private schools cannot absorb such a large number, pointing to a systemic access issue.
To address this, Alausa called on state governments to expand school infrastructure and increase capacity.
He confirmed ongoing discussions with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to tackle the challenge.
The LIN system will also serve as a digital tracking tool, enabling authorities to monitor student retention and identify dropouts in real time.
According to the minister, this data-driven system will help uncover reasons behind school dropouts and support targeted interventions.
In addition, the government is working to revive the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, with plans to possibly move it under the Ministry of Education for improved oversight and accountability.