ABUJA, Nigeria — The Nigerian government has cancelled a three-year-old policy that mandated teaching in indigenous languages at the primary level, reinstating English as the medium of instruction from pre-primary through university.
Education Minister Tunji Alausa announced the reversal in Abuja, saying the programme had failed to deliver results. He pointed to poor performance in national exams — including WAEC, NECO, and JAMB — in regions that adopted mother-tongue teaching extensively.
Origins of the Policy
The initiative was introduced in 2022 by former Education Minister Adamu Adamu, who argued that children learn more effectively in their native languages. His position was supported by UN studies on early childhood education.
Nigeria’s Education Challenges
Nigeria’s education system faces deep-rooted problems:
- Poor-quality teaching and inadequate materials
- Low pay for teachers and frequent strikes
- High dropout rates, with less than half of pupils completing secondary school
- About 10 million children out of school, the highest figure globally, according to the UN
Mixed Reactions
The abrupt cancellation has drawn divided responses:
- Supporters say Nigeria lacks trained teachers and resources to implement mother-tongue teaching across dozens of languages, and argue English proficiency is essential for exams and global competitiveness.
- Critics argue the policy was scrapped prematurely, noting that such a major shift required investment in teacher training, textbooks, and time to show results.
Education expert Dr Aliyu Tilde praised the reversal, saying Nigeria “isn’t ready” for mother-tongue instruction. Parent Hajara Musa agreed, saying early English exposure benefits children.
But social affairs analyst Habu Dauda disagreed, calling the move hasty: “Three years is too little to judge a big shift such as this — the government ought to have added more investment.”
Balancing Heritage and Globalisation
The debate underscores Nigeria’s ongoing struggle to balance its rich linguistic diversity with the practical demands of a national curriculum and a globalised economy where English proficiency dominates.