The Federal Ministry of Education has unveiled plans to introduce a Learner Identification Number (LIN) for pupils starting from primary school, as part of efforts to monitor academic progress and improve retention in the education system.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this during an interactive session with journalists in Lagos.
According to him, the initiative is aimed at addressing the alarming gap between the number of pupils enrolled in primary schools and those who progress to secondary education.
“We have over 50,000 public primary schools in the country with over 23 million pupils. However, from statistics available to us, only a little over 3 million among those pupils move to the junior secondary school level in our public schools, then the question is, where are the about 20 million not enrolled in our public secondary schools? It is obvious that we cannot say our private schools accommodate all of them.
“The issue is simply lack of access and we are working on that. There is need to build more schools and I have met the Nigerian Governors’ Forum over that. State governments need to build more schools to accommodate more pupils and students.
“To also follow up on our pupils and students, we are introducing the Learner Identification Number right from primary school level for our children. It will be unique to each child and they will have the number no matter where they started schooling or later transferred to. If somebody is expected to be in JSS class one and he is not there, we will be able to know the reason why he is not continuing his education,” he said.
Alausa also revealed that the government plans to phase out the common entrance examination for pupils transitioning from primary to junior secondary school.
“It will be replaced by Continuous Assessment, CA. The CA will reflect the performance of the pupil from primary one and even if a pupil is transferring from one school to another, he will take it along to his new school,” he explained.
In addition, the minister disclosed ongoing efforts to revive the school feeding programme to encourage enrolment and attendance in public schools.
He noted that the programme would be moved from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure more effective monitoring and implementation.
What you should know
The proposed Learner Identification Number (LIN) is a major step toward digitising Nigeria’s education system and tackling dropout rates.
By tracking each student’s academic journey, authorities can identify gaps, improve planning, and ensure accountability. The move to replace common entrance exams with continuous assessment reflects a shift toward a more holistic evaluation system.
Combined with efforts like reviving school feeding programmes, the initiative aims to boost enrolment, retention, and overall access to quality education across the country.
