Section 6, The Education Act, 2004

(1) Primary education shall consist of full-time formalschooling which children receive for six years from age six to twelve. (2) It shall be the aim of primary education to give children early structural cross cultural socialisation opportunities and an elementary introduction to those fundamentals necessary to produce individuals able, at a basic level, to improve and enrich their own circumstances and to contribute meaningfully to life in their community and thus to its development. (3) Primary education, and hence all primary schools, shall be controlled and caused to be inspected by the Minister. (4) Primary schools shall continue to be operated by the government and other approved private individuals or bodies of individuals including missionary bodies, local authorities and large businesses. (5) The curriculum of primary schools shall be controlled by the Ministry and prepared by the National Curriculum Research and Development Centre. (6) Continuous assessment of all primary level pupils shall be carried out by all primary schools along the lines given to schools by the Ministry in a Continuous Assessment Handbook and continuous assessment scores shall be employed in the manner stipulated in that handbook. (7) A Guidance Counsellor or teacher shall be attached to each primary school. (8) At the end of class six, all children shall take the National Primary School Examination (NPSE) which shall be conducted by the West African Examinations Council, the result of which shall be used for junior secondary school placement purposes. (9) All primary schools shall conform to minimum stipulated national standards or be closed down.