The National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC) has released the National Minimum Standards for Secondary Education, directing state governments to ensure full implementation within 12 months.
Executive Secretary of NSSEC, Dr. Iyela Ajayi, disclosed this during an interaction with journalists in Abuja, stressing that the Commission is committed to reshaping the secondary education sector through standards enforcement, teacher development, digital expansion, and infrastructure upgrades.
“The National Minimum Standards benchmarks requirements for all aspects of secondary education teacher numbers, qualifications, teacher student ratios, and available infrastructure,” Ajayi explained. “The type and quality of buildings are clearly outlined. We launched the Standards in February and distributed them to all states. The law empowers us not only to produce these Standards but to enforce them, hence the 12-month compliance window.”
He added that the era of students learning under trees or in roofless classrooms must end, emphasizing the need for uniformity and adherence to national benchmarks.
Ajayi said NSSEC is also intensifying efforts to boost teacher quality through continuous professional development, including training programmes for English and Mathematics teachers, as well as capacity building on AI-driven teaching methods for educators and school administrators.
He listed the Commission’s priority areas to include teacher training and recruitment, digital learning and ICT integration, large-scale infrastructure rehabilitation, technical and vocational education, inclusive learning for girls and persons with disabilities, and curriculum reforms centred on practical skills and improved school governance.
On curriculum adjustments, Ajayi highlighted NSSEC’s role in recent national reforms, such as the reintroduction of History, reduction of curriculum overload and the expansion of skill-based learning.
Despite financial limitations, he noted that NSSEC has facilitated upgrades in at least 50 senior secondary schools one in each state through constituency projects, providing 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.
Ajayi added that the Commission is engaging telecom companies to secure subsidised broadband access for schools and collaborating with development partners to procure 30,000 tablets for teachers nationwide.
He further revealed plans to make computer literacy compulsory for all students and expand offerings in robotics, artificial intelligence and data science.
