The federal government has announced plans to introduce a learner identification number (LIN) for pupils from primary school level.
The move aims to track academic progress and reduce the rate of school dropout.
Tunji Alausa, minister of education, disclosed this during an interactive session with journalists in Lagos.
He said the initiative will assign a unique number to every child, regardless of where they begin or continue their education.
According to him, the system will help authorities monitor students’ progression. It will also help identify those who fail to move to the next level.
“If a child is expected to be in JSS1 and is not there, we will know and find out why,” he said.
Alausa raised concerns over declining enrollment. He said more than 23 million pupils are in over 50,000 public primary schools.
However, only about 3 million proceed to junior secondary school in public institutions.
He said private schools cannot absorb the gap, adding that limited access to schools remains a major challenge.
To address this, the minister said the federal government is working with state governments. The goal is to build more schools and expand capacity.
Meanwhile, Alausa announced plans to phase out the common entrance examination.
He said the government will replace it with continuous assessment (CA). The system will evaluate pupils based on their performance from primary one.
He added that the assessment record will follow pupils, even if they transfer between schools.
The minister also revealed plans to revive the school feeding programme. The aim is to boost enrollment in public schools.
He said the government will move the programme from the ministry of humanitarian affairs to the federal ministry of education. This will ensure better oversight.
