The Lagos State Ministry of Education is to meet with stakeholders in the basic education sector to determine the appropriate age for admission of pupils into secondary schools.
A statement by the Head, Public Affairs Unit, Kayode Abayomi, noted that the ministry had received messages about the issue and was deliberating on a benchmark with relevant stakeholders.
However, the statement noted that no decision had been taken yet on the issue, warning the public to disregard any news to the contrary.
It quoted the Education Commissioner, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo that scheduled meetings with private school proprietors, Nigeria Union of Teachers, Office of Education Quality Assurance, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Lagos State Examination Board, All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS), Nigeria among others were suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The public is hereby assured that as soon as normalcy returns, these meetings will be held, and details of the state’s final position on the matter will be made available to all stakeholders, both digitally (online) and in hard copy through the state media platforms.
As mentioned, there have been outlined concerns on this matter and all issues raised will be discussed and follow proper due process before implementation,” she said.
The National Policy on Education stipulates the expected years of schooling at each level of education. It stipulates one year of pre-primary education; six years of primary education; six years of secondary education; and four years or more of tertiary education.
However, it has been the practice of private schools to only implement five years of primary education. As a result, many children get into secondary school without completing the primary school curriculum and being rushed before they are physically, mentally, emotionally ready for secondary education.
