FG Drops Policy On Indigenous Language Instruction

The Federal Government has officially withdrawn the national policy that required schools across nigeria“>Nigeria to adopt indigenous languages as the primary medium of instruction.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced the cancellation on Wednesday at the 2025 Language in Education International Conference, organized by the British Council in Abuja.

The Gazette News nigeria“>Nigeria Online gathered that the cancellation was approved at the 69th meeting of the National Council on Education, held in Akure, Ondo State, from November 3 to 7.

The policy, approved in 2022 as the National Language Policy, stipulated that children from early childhood education to primary six should be taught in their mother tongue or the language of the immediate community.

The policy aimed to promote indigenous languages, recognize their equal status, and improve early childhood learning outcomes, while English remained the official language for later education and formal settings.

Speaking at the conference, Alausa said English would now be the language of instruction across all levels of education, from primary through tertiary.

Data demonstrating low academic performance in areas where mother-tongue instruction had been prioritized, he said, was the reason for the decision.

We have seen a mass failure rate in WAEC, NECO, and JAMB in certain geopolitical zones of the country, and those are the ones that adopted the mother tongue in an oversubscribed manner.

He said:

“This is about evidence-based governance. English now stands as the medium of instruction from pre-primary, primary, junior secondary, senior secondary, and tertiary education”

Alausa added:

“Using the mother tongue language in nigeria“>Nigeria for the past 15 years has literally destroyed education in certain regions. We have to talk about evidence, not emotions.”

He noted that data from schools across the country indicated students taught primarily in indigenous languages had higher failure rates in national examinations and struggled with basic English comprehension.

Alausa declared:

“The national policy on language has been cancelled. English now stands as the medium of instruction across all levels of education”.

The minister encouraged stakeholders with differing views to present verifiable data to support their positions and stressed that the government remains open to evidence-based dialogue to strengthen the education sector.

He also commended the British Council for its ongoing partnership with nigeria“>Nigeria in advancing education reforms and promoting inclusive language and learning policies.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmed, said the government is implementing other measures to address learning challenges at the foundational level.

Now we are designing a training package for teachers that focuses on literacy and numeracy.

She said:

“This specifically targets teachers of pre-primary to Primary One to Three. We are training them on the best methods to teach literacy and numeracy and the appropriate approach to classroom learning”.

The British Council Country Director, Donna McGowan, reaffirmed the council’s commitment to supporting nigeria“>Nigeria’s education reforms.

McGowan said:

“We’re committed to working hand-in-hand with the ministry. We work across all areas of education in terms of supporting teacher professional development, school leadership, and language proficiency”.