By Owei Lakemfa
THE FEDERAL Government has announced it is replacing the 6-3-3-4 education system with a linear 12-year one. This is without wide consultations with the citizenry or the major stakeholders like parents, intellectuals, teachers, students, employers and labour.
Just nine months ago, government had, with immediate effect, imposed major changes in the education system. That was on September 3, 2025, when the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, and Minister of State, Professor Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, announced that the Tinubu administration had ordered a major review of the national curriculum. They claimed the reforms were to reduce subject “overload,” promote skill development, and align Nigerian education with “global best practices.”
The universal best practices in education are the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) four pillars of education, which are: Learning to Know, Learning to Do, Learning to Live Together, and Learning to Be, which collectively result in holistic development and lifelong learning.
The ministers announced that the fundamental changes, which, like a military decree, took immediate effect, are a testament to the Tinubu administration’s commitment to invigorate education, enhance teaching, and equip students with the skills and knowledge required to flourish globally.
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The plethora of reasons given for replacing the 44-year 6-3-3-4 system do not stand up to any critical scrutiny or logic. First, it claims the aim is to reduce school dropouts. It said there are about 80,000 public primary schools to some 15,000 junior secondary schools. This imbalance, the administration argues, has contributed to overcrowding and limited access to education. So, how does a change of system result in availability of more secondary schools or improved access to education? What is required is simply to build and equip more schools.
The administration is merely trying to sidestep issues and divert attention from the fact that after over three years in office, it has neither focus nor direction on education. For instance, the primary problem Nigeria faces is not so much the issue of dropouts in secondary schools, but the fact that we have over twenty million out-of-school children. Rather than tackle this, the administration has for over three years now engaged in rigmarole. It is like abandoning leprosy and focusing on scabies. Education is like the staircase in a house; it is a linear progression.
It does not matter whether the steps are 6-3-3 or 12. So, the issue is not the system, but the vision, policy, implementation, political will and sincerity. Secondly, government claims that the change is to eliminate financial barriers. How does a change in school system solve that problem? The basic way to eliminate financial barriers is to make education free and available as stated in Chapter Two of the constitution. A refrain of the Tinubu administration is that its education objectives are to align the Nigerian education system with “global best practices.” What does this jargon mean?
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The universal best practices in education are the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) four pillars of education, which are: Learning to Know, Learning to Do, Learning to Live Together, and Learning to Be, which collectively result in holistic development and lifelong learning.
UNESCO explains that “Learning to Know” is about knowledge acquisition and understanding the world, which enables the student to develop cognitive skills and effectively comprehend complex issues. “Learning to Do” is the application of knowledge to real-life situations, which requires occupational skill acquisition and the ability to handle work challenges either individually or collectively.
This equips the individual to work within society, be useful to it and adapt to the environment and its challenges. “Learning to Live Together” is understanding how to live with others, appreciate diversity, respect other views, beliefs and human dignity, foster social skills and the ability to manage conflicts.
Also, the government’s idea of education is myopic; it is all about form, not content. What is the content of the education our children are getting? For instance, are they being educated to defend the society, fundamental human rights and democracy? Now, my final submission. Education is the foundation of society and its future. It is so fundamental that it touches all lives in society. Therefore, if fundamental changes are to be carried out, it should not be like an ambush.
“Learning to Be” is developing the ability for critical thought and developing individual potentials. This pillar aims at personal development, encouraging individuals to develop their personality, autonomy, critical thinking, self-control, self-awareness and contribution to the development of society. These four pillars are the framework on which universal education is built.
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Talking about system, is there anything inferior about the 6-3-3-4 Nigeria is running? To answer this, let us examine that of China, which has used education and vision to vastly improve the lives of its 1.4 billion citizens and transformed a hitherto backward, underdeveloped country to the second-largest economy in the world. China has a six-year primary school and a three-year middle school after which a competitive entrance examination, the Zhongkao, is taken for entry into senior secondary education, which runs for three years. It is at this stage the student either goes for the humanities or STEM. Except for the Zhongkao examination, this is exactly the education system Nigeria is running.
If there is an argument that China is communist, let us examine the capitalist United States. It runs the “K-12” system, which is structured into elementary, middle school and high school, then tertiary. This again is like the 6-3-3-4 system Nigeria is running.
If there is an argument that Nigeria’s education DNA is British, we can also examine its system. Britain runs a 3–5-year-old early learning; 5–11-year-old primary education; 11–14-year-old secondary education; 14–16-year-old General Certificate of Secondary Education; and a 16–18-year-old Advanced Level school, before tertiary education. Again, there are similarities with the Nigerian system. So, where did the Tinubu government get its illusory “global best practices” refrain?
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Our 6-3-3-4 education system is designed to blend technical, vocational and general education so its graduate can choose a pathway to the future. If this system has failed as claimed by the Tinubu team, it is not the system that has failed but the governments we have had since 1982 that have failed to provide and equip workshops and training centres for skill acquisition and properly invest in education. But is government really interested in education when the teacher-training schools have been abolished and the Colleges of Education are run like orphanages for people considered as low brains?
Also, the government’s idea of education is myopic; it is all about form, not content. What is the content of the education our children are getting? For instance, are they being educated to defend the society, fundamental human rights and democracy? Now, my final submission. Education is the foundation of society and its future. It is so fundamental that it touches all lives in society. Therefore, if fundamental changes are to be carried out, it should not be like an ambush.
The people should not be alienated from the process. There should be broad consultations and the people treated as sovereign. Given UNESCO’s definition of education, those who alienate the people from such a fundamental process of education-system change, irrespective of their educational qualifications, are merely literate, not educated.
My suggestion is that the Tinubu administration should halt any further steps on the education-system change to allow for a comprehensive review and wide consultations. The days of military rule are gone.
