The proposed legislation comes amid the Federal Government’s broader drive to reform secondary education.
By Onwuka Mmesoma
365Daily – President Bola Tinubu has transmitted an executive bill to the Senate seeking to amend the legal framework governing senior secondary education in Nigeria as part of the Federal Government’s ongoing efforts to improve the administration and quality of education across the country.
The proposed legislation, titled the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (Amendment) Bill 2026, was conveyed to the upper chamber in a letter read during Thursday plenary by President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio.
According to the President, the amendment is designed to enhance the governance and administration of public senior secondary schools by strengthening the institutional framework responsible for their oversight.
He informed the Senate that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the draft legislation at its meeting of April 30 2026, after which it was reviewed and finalized by the Federal Ministry of Justice to ensure compliance with constitutional and legislative drafting standards.
President Tinubu urged the National Assembly to give the bill the necessary legislative consideration, noting that the proposed amendment forms part of his administration’s commitment to improving educational institutions and advancing reforms within Nigeria’s education sector.
Following the presentation of the communication, the Senate President referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business for legislative processing, directing the committee to report back to the chamber within one week.
The proposed legislation comes amid the Federal Government’s broader drive to reform secondary education. Recent policy discussions have focused on improving access to uninterrupted education and addressing the persistent challenge of out of school children through structural changes to the country’s education system.
Nigeria currently operates the 6-3-3-4 education system, comprising six years of primary education, three years of junior secondary education, three years of senior secondary education, and four years of tertiary education.
Education stakeholders have long identified the transition between these stages, alongside poverty, insecurity, inadequate infrastructure, and the rising cost of education, as major contributors to school dropout rates.
If enacted, the amendment is expected to reinforce the legal and administrative framework for senior secondary education and support the Federal Government’s wider agenda of strengthening educational governance and improving learning outcomes nationwide.