The National Senior Secondary Education Commission, NSSEC, has released the National Minimum Standards for Secondary Education, with a call on state governments to begin immediate implementation.
Speaking during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Iyela Ajayi, said NSSEC remains committed to transforming the senior secondary education sector through strengthened standards enforcement, improved teacher quality, digital expansion, and upgraded infrastructure.
“The National Minimum Standards provide clear benchmarks for every aspect of secondary education, how many teachers a school should have, the required qualifications, appropriate teacher–student ratios, the type and quality of buildings, and the infrastructure expected to be in place,” Ajayi explained.
He said the standards were launched in February and distributed to all states, with a 12-month compliance window.
“The law establishing this Commission empowers us not only to develop these standards but also to enforce them. We have given the states one year to comply,” he said.
Ajayi stressed that uniformity and quality must be restored across the country’s senior secondary system.
“We cannot continue with a situation where students learn under trees or in classrooms without roofs. Those days must end,” he said.
To improve teacher quality, he disclosed that the Commission is intensifying continuous professional development programmes, including specialised training for English and Mathematics teachers and capacity-building on AI-driven teaching and school management.
Ajayi listed NSSEC’s key priority areas as sustained teacher training, recruitment and retention of qualified teachers, digital learning and ICT integration, and large-scale infrastructure rehabilitation.
Other focus areas include technical and vocational education, inclusive learning for girls and persons with disabilities, curriculum reform with emphasis on practical skills, and strengthened school governance.
On curriculum adjustments, he highlighted NSSEC’s role in recent national reforms, including the reintroduction of History, reduction of curriculum overload, and expansion of skills-based learning.
Despite funding limitations, Ajayi noted that NSSEC has facilitated the upgrade of at least 50 senior secondary schools, one in each state, through constituency projects.
“These include new classrooms, laboratories and ICT facilities. We are not yet like UBEC, but the little we have done is already changing the narrative,” he said.
He also announced ongoing engagements with telecom companies to provide subsidised broadband access to schools, as well as partnerships with development agencies to secure 30,000 tablets for teachers nationwide.
According to him, the Commission is working toward making computer literacy compulsory for all students and expanding learning pathways in robotics, artificial intelligence, and data science.
