The Ondo State Federal government has restricted the movement of students from Main 4 straight to secondary school, cautioning both public and private schools to abide by the national 6-3-3-4 education structure.
The state federal government also announced plans to clamp down on examination “miracle centres” and unregistered independent schools running without correct approval and documentation.
The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof Igbekele Ajibefun, disclosed this throughout a conference with education stakeholders in Akure on Thursday, ahead of the resumption of schools for a brand-new scholastic session.
Ajibefun stated the practice of moving students to secondary school before they finish their primary education was affecting the quality of knowing and leaving some students without the academic structure needed at greater levels.
According to him, the national education policy offers six years of main education, followed by three years of junior secondary education and another 3 years of senior secondary education before higher education.
He expressed issue that some schools were bypassing the structure by moving pupils from Primary 4 straight to secondary school.
“We saw that some students who are not qualified for specific examinations, like state examinations, and even nationwide tests like WAEC, are being signed up for these examinations,” the commissioner said.
“The education policy of Nigeria is 6-3-3-4. That implies 6 years in main school, three years in junior secondary school and 3 years in senior secondary school. However a lot of our schools, particularly primary schools, bypass this policy.”
Ajibefun said the practice deprives students of important years of knowing and could contribute to scholastic troubles later on in their educational journey.
He discussed that while incredibly dazzling students could be considered for double promotion, the government would no longer allow the indiscriminate motion of pupils into higher classes or secondary schools before finishing the needed level of primary education.
“For a trainee to invest just 4 years, it suggests 2 years are cut off from the learning environment and the finding out process. Some trainees, when they get to secondary school, do not have the foundation to cope,” he said.
He added that weak academic foundations might ultimately contribute to examination malpractice when impacted students reach the phase of composing major examinations.
The commissioner said students would now be anticipated to finish Primary 6 before proceeding to secondary school, other than in cases involving trainees thought about academically qualified for double promo.
“We are stopping trainees, pupils, from transferring to secondary school without passing through Main Six. If we have really fantastic trainees, yes, they can have double promo,” Ajibefun said.
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He worried, however, that the arrangement for double promo must not end up being a general practice for an entire class of students.
According to him, the incorrect promo of students has actually contributed to concerns about declining education standards in some schools.
Ajibefun also stated the state federal government would heighten efforts to identify and get rid of evaluation “miracle centres”, which are often related to evaluation malpractice.
He stated education authorities would increase monitoring to spot centres where prospects take part in deceitful evaluation practices.
“We do find out about the assessment ‘miracle centres’. Yes, we learned that the examination wonder centres are where all types of examination scams are devoted,” he stated.
“We are going to take a look at these locations; we are going to do overall tracking. If we find any, this is the time to remove it.”
The commissioner further disclosed that the federal government would act versus independent schools operating without registration or the necessary paperwork.
According to him, the variety of unregistered independent schools in the state may exceed that of formally recognised institutions.
He revealed issue that some schools were operating from inappropriate centers, consisting of single rooms and short-term structures, without being caught in the federal government’s official records.
Ajibefun stated the Ministry of Education had determined a number of locations requiring urgent intervention and was presenting policies aimed at dealing with the obstacles.
“Having determined some of the issues that need some corrective procedures, the ministry is developing new policies and these brand-new policies will work, most of them, from this new academic year,” he stated.