President Bola Tinubu has transmitted the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2026, to the Senate, seeking accelerated legislative approval for reforms aimed at strengthening the administration and regulation of public senior secondary education in Nigeria.
The President’s request was conveyed in a letter read during Thursday’s plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Tinubu said the proposed amendment was designed to enhance the management, institutional framework and oversight of public senior secondary education nationwide as part of his administration’s broader agenda to revitalise the education sector.
According to the President, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the bill at its meeting of April 30, 2026, following which the Federal Ministry of Justice vetted and finalised the draft in line with constitutional provisions and legislative drafting standards.
“In furtherance of this administration’s commitment to strengthening educational institutions in the national interest, the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2026, is hereby forwarded for legislative action by the National Assembly,” Tinubu stated in the letter.
He urged the Senate to accord the bill expeditious consideration, expressing confidence that its passage would support ongoing efforts to improve the country’s education system.
Responding, Akpabio referred the proposed legislation to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business, directing it to report back to the chamber within one week.
The bill comes amid the Federal Government’s renewed push to reform secondary education.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, recently announced plans to end the policy separating junior secondary schools (JSS) from senior secondary schools (SSS), arguing that the arrangement has failed to achieve its intended objectives.
According to the minister, the policy has created disparities in student enrolment, with overcrowding in many junior secondary schools while several senior secondary schools remain underutilised.
He also disclosed that the disarticulation policy had weakened the transition from primary to senior secondary education, revealing that more than 20 million pupils who enrolled in primary schools did not progress to senior secondary level.
