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| The Senate wing of the National Assembly complex in Abuja, photographed in March 2019. File photograph. Ovinuchi Prince Ejiohuo / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. |
The Senate has approved proposed changes to the law governing Nigeria’s senior secondary education commission, supporting measures intended to improve public school administration and coordination between federal and state education authorities.
Senators passed the National Senior Secondary Education Commission Act Amendment Bill, 2026, numbered SB 1075, on Wednesday, 11 November, after adopting the report of the Committee on Education, Basic and Secondary.
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin announced the decision after lawmakers examined the recommendations in the Committee of the Whole and approved the bill at third reading.
“Third reading taken and passed.”
The executive-sponsored legislation seeks to amend Act No. 45 of 2023. Presenting the committee’s findings, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu said implementation of the existing law had exposed gaps requiring legislative attention.
Kalu, who represents Abia North, presented the report on behalf of the committee chairman, Senator Lawal Adamu Usman. He said the proposed revisions would strengthen governance, improve accountability and help education authorities implement national policies more effectively.
An account published by the National Assembly Library Trust Fund said the proposals address funding arrangements for infrastructure, laboratory equipment, instructional materials and teacher development. They also cover direct interventions for Federal Unity Colleges and Armed Forces senior secondary schools.
These remain proposed changes, with further legislative approval and presidential assent required before they can take effect.
Explaining the committee’s work, Kalu recalled that the Senate referred the bill for detailed examination after considering it on 20 October.
He said the review included a joint stakeholders’ hearing and examination of individual clauses. The committee assessed submissions and recommendations from relevant participants before incorporating the accepted changes into its report.
According to Kalu, the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education Services also adopted the joint report. The collaboration followed the House’s consideration and referral of the legislation to its own committee, allowing both panels to examine the proposals together.
Senators raised no further observations when Kalu presented the findings. They subsequently considered and adopted the recommendations in the Committee of the Whole before proceeding to the final reading.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio commended the education committee’s handling of the legislation.
The commission’s existing responsibilities include setting and enforcing standards, supporting teaching and learning, and coordinating senior secondary education across the states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Its official history records the start of operations in April 2021 and the signing of the NSSEC Act in 2023. The amendment now before the National Assembly seeks to revise that statutory framework and the arrangements through which the commission carries out its responsibilities.