Secondary education in Nigeria, is what can be referred to as the intermediary level of education because it is what a person proceeds to acquire after primary education and something a person must have had before being admitted into tertiary education.
In Nigeria, secondary education requires six years of academic training in a secondary school with three years in Junior Secondary School (JSS) and another three years in Senior Secondary School (SSS).
At the end of these six years, it is expected that students take what is called Senior Secondary Certificate Exam (SSCE) which may be WAEC, NECO, NABTEB.
This means that it takes a total number of twelve years of education before a person can be offered admission into Colleges of Education, polytechnics, universities and other tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
If you need to convince an illiterate parent on why they would need to send their teen boys and girls to secondary schools to acquire secondary education, then this article is for you. Because this article will expound on the importance of secondary education in Nigeria.
Importance of Secondary Education in Nigeria
- Secondary Education provides room for primary school leavers to get higher education without ethnic or religious biases as may be applicable in tertiary institutions where catchment areas, State of origin and some latent quota allocations determine who comes in or needs to try again.
- Secondary Education is foundational to helping individuals find a career path: It is in secondary schools that teenagers decide to go to the arts, sciences or social sciences which popularly called commercial class.
Students learn the basics about these fields and decided on whether they want to be doctors or engineers or lawyers or accountants, depending on their choices.
- Secondary Education is also instrumental to self-discovery: The greatest discovery as they say, is self-discovery and the diversified curriculum available in secondary schools is such as help students know their talents and hidden capabilities such as singing, acting, great soccer skills or dancing as is required of them as extra-curricular.
- Secondary Education empowers young people with what innovativeness they need to thrive in in the present age which is technologically driven: With Clubs like JETS Club in our secondary schools, innovation is promoted and young people are getting their minds widened enough to be receptive to novel technologies. This is very important in the times we live in, it is in fact, a survival skill everyone needs.
- Secondary Education will expose young people to what is known as Civic education and this is very important for these young ones to grow in to patriotic citizens who know their civic rights and are non-hesitant about discharging their civic duties such as engaging in politics, to vote and be voted for.
- Secondary Education brings together people from different walks of life, religions and ethnic groups.
Learning together with people who are different from a person teaches tolerance and unity. And it is well known that tolerance and unity are pretty much what a multi-ethnic country such as Nigeria needs for growth, development and peace to reign.
Importance Of Primary Education In Nigeria
Conclusion
All levels of education is very important, Secondary education is as important as any other level of education as one cannot attain University education passing through the secondary education. One cannot go to the university from primary school. Therefore, secondary education is indispensable.