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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Last month, the Minister for Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, stirred an unexpected controversy that generated massive public reactions in the education system when he announced the reversal of the National Policy on Mother-tongue as the language of teaching and learning in basic education schools, and immediate restoration of English as the main language of instruction in Nigerian schools.
The decision, which the minister announced at the 2025 Language in Education International Conference, organized by the British Council, in Abuja, caused some unexpected comments from among the stakeholders in the education sector particularly those from the northern Nigeria.
For several years, reports from local and international partners revealed that literacy and numeracy level are extremely poor in northern, in addition to the menace of high number of out-of-school children. For instance, the UNICEF, in 2023, indicated that over 70 per cent of the children in basic schools, especially in northern Nigeria are not learning, in terms of basic literacy and numeracy education.
FG’s position
But the education Minister, at the event, re-echoed the situation, and informed the global audience that the decision to cancel the mother-tongue policy was based on extensive data analysis and evidence which confirmed that the use of the mother-tongue as the primary medium of instruction had negatively impacted learning outcomes in several parts of the country especially in northern Nigeria.
He made reference to a mass failure rate recorded in WAEC, NECO, and JAMB in certain geo-political zones of the country that had adopted the mother-tongue in an over-subscribed manner. “This is not about sentiment, but about evidence-based governance. Henceforth, the decision on mother-tongue is reversed. English now stands as the medium of instruction from the pre-primary, primary, junior secondary, senior secondary and to the tertiary education level.
“Using the mother-tongue language in Nigeria for the past years has literally destroyed the education system in some parts of this country. We have to talk about evidence, not emotions, and we could see that in the education outcomes,” he said.
The Education Minister disclosed that four out of the six geo-political zones are not implementing the policy, noting that the South-West, South-South, South-East and North-Central still use English as medium of instruction in schools.
According to him, with 650 mother tongue languages in the country and with our complexity, it will be tough to implement based on cost and three major languages: Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa.
Alausa said the instructional textbooks are not written in the mother tongue language and that even if they are, when the students go for national and West African exams, they are written in English.
How the campaign started
A few years ago, late Prof. Babatunde Fafunwa, the former Minister for Education and the first Nigerian Professor of Education, began the campaign for the adoption of the mother-tongue for teaching and learning in basic schools.
He made reference to research that he had conducted a few years ago which confirmed that teaching and learning in mother-tongue was “highly effective”, and seems to be the best language mechanism in impacting knowledge especially at the early stage in life.
He said the research was able to prove that language is an important vehicle of disseminating information and imparting knowledge, and that mother-tongue is the easiest and most accessible medium of teaching that facilitates quick understanding, comprehension and responses.
In 2022, the National Council on Education (NCE) approved the national mother-tongue policy which stipulated that children from early childhood education to primary six should be taught in their mother-tongue or the language of the immediate community.
This was also linked to the UNESCO’s decision to declared February 21st of every year as International Mother Language Day, an indication of the importance attached to the mother-tongue/language and its use in schools.
UNESCO suggested that the day should be used to celebrate culture and linguistic diversity for sustainable society, with the aim of promoting the languages and keeping them alive despite the efforts of the colonial masters who had imposed their languages on Africans and that had affected the quality of education system.
Before then, the UNICEF and some of its partners had also amplified the push for the formal adoption of mother-tongue/language for the use in teaching and learning in Nigerian school system, particularly basic education system.
UNICEF said the decision was based on growing cases of poor literacy and numeracy rate among the children in basic schools, amidst growing number of out-of-school children especially in northern Nigeria.
It made reference to its research which showed that children learn better and understand more when they are taught in their mother-tongue/language particularly science subjects at the early stage in life, while second language are gradually introduced later in life.
UNICEF noted that several developed countries of the world, notably, China, Japan, and several others, where the approach, teaching in mother-tongue was adopted in their basic education system, evidently recorded an improved literacy and numeracy among the young ones.
Meanwhile, a UNICEF official who pleaded anonymity said, ” studies and evidences across the world have shown that when you teach children in mother-tongue/language especially at age 1 to 3, they learn better and faster.
“The use of mother-tongue/language, unarguably, assist the children to acquire basic numeracy and literacy skills. You can then switch to second language slightly later in life. Obviously, improved results are often achieved with this approach.
“But before then, teachers should be trained to teach in local languages. There should also be books and other tutorial materials produced in local languages. These would also go a long way in solving the literacy problems in Nigeria.”
NAE, NAL, others react
The Nigerian Academy of Education (NAE), the National Academy of Letters (NAL), and a few other stakeholders have rejected the decision of the government to restore English as language of instruction in schools. They described the policy reversal as a “grave disservice” to Nigeria’s educational progress.
The NAE views the decision as a significant misstep, influenced by recommendations that appear to disregard established research and historical precedents, such as Prof. Babatunde Fafunwa’s 1978 experiment and the Rivers Readers’ Project.
NAE President, Emeritus Prof. Olugbemiro Jegede, urged the Minister to reconsider and reverse his decision as quickly as possible and restore mother-tongue as the language of instruction at foundational levels of education.
He argued that overwhelming evidence supports early education in indigenous languages, which, he said, improves learning outcomes, strengthens cultural identity, and promotes inclusive national development.
He warned that discontinuing mother-tongue as language of instruction without rigorous evaluation could amount to permanent recolonisation and the burial of Nigeria’s future and pride.
In a letter to the Minister of Education, the NAE reminded the Minister that the National Language Policy spanned many years of cautious and painstaking development by the best stakeholders in Nigeria including language experts, educationists, academicians, researchers, administrators, policy makers and representatives of notable professional associations in Nigeria.
It said the document was published by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) in 2022. Under its chapter 3 (Policy Declarations and Statements on Language and Language Status Section 14b), it was unequivocally stated that the policy, which shall be reviewed every 10 years should regulate the coexistence, status and use of Nigerian languages and other languages in the country.
Hence, the recent reversal of Nigeria’s policy on the use of indigenous languages as the medium of instruction at the lower levels of education has generated widespread concern.
There is indeed the recent six-year-research data on the Obolo Bilingual Education Centre presented at the just concluded International Conference on Language and Inclusion in Education in Abuja, where there was sound evidence on the superior learning and teaching that takes place in the OBEC schools as facilitated by the Obolo medium of instruction.
The NAE, however, highlighted several flaws in the reasoning behind the policy reversal. For instance, research such as the Ife six-year project and the Rivers Readers’ Project demonstrate improved academic performance with mother-tongue instruction, aligning with international standards; Mother-tongue as medium of instruction ends at primary four which implies that students sitting for public examinations have received years of instruction in English after primary four.
NAE also said that attributing poor performance at senior secondary school external examination to early mother-tongue instruction is not evidence-based and misleading. Also, no concrete evidence was provided to substantiate claims that mother-tongue instruction over 15 years has harmed educational outcomes.
Rather, the policy only prescribed mother-tongue instruction up to primary four, after which English is used as the main language of instruction. So, the recommendation to cancel the policy overlooks substantial research supporting bilingual and multilingual education and misrepresents the scope and intent of the existing policy.
The Academy, thus faulted the rationale provided by the minister, insisting that poor performance in public examinations cannot be attributed to mother-tongue instruction, which ends at primary four. “No empirical data supports claims that indigenous language teaching has undermined educational outcomes in the past few years,” the Academy said.
He called for immediate reinstatement of the policy, urging the government to strengthen implementation through teacher training, improved learning materials, stakeholder engagement, and regular evidence-based reviews.
“Safeguarding early-grade learning in Nigerian languages is vital to preserving national heritage and preventing further decline in literacy. We are ready to work with the Ministry to ensure a functional and culturally grounded education system for future generations,” it added.
The British Council Country Director, Donna McGowan, at the recent Language in Education International Conference, highlighted that the sub-Saharan Africa is home to more than 2,000 languages, and while multilingualism is strength of the region, the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) continues to be a significant barrier for many learners.
McGowan explained that the conference explored key areas, including language and inclusive education, the importance of foundational learning through effective language applications, effective bilingual practices and the strengthening of teacher-training and the use of appropriate pedagogy for language-diverse classrooms.
He said: “Language is more than a medium of education; it is also the foundation of inclusion. Hence, we need to reimagine education systems that reflect Africa’s rich linguistic and cultural diversity and ensure every child has the chance to succeed.
“British Council is always committed to supporting Nigeria’s education reforms. We are 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.”
Former Executive Secretary, National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE), Prof. Rashid Aderionye, in his submissions, said the adoption of English, as language of instruction as against the existing policy is another form of re-colonisation.
He said: “studies all over the world established the fact that children learn better and faster with mother-tongue as language of instruction in the early stage of learning, which is basic as established by late Prof. Babatunde Fafunwa in his Ife studies.
“To us in the education sector, we were taken aback when we read that the Minister for Education declared that the National language policy has been replaced with the colonialists philosophy. A few days ago, precisely on Wednesday December 3rd, 2025, UNESCO Regional Office in Dakar, Senegal, had a webiner on all Africa achievement in basic learning.
“Issues of teacher development, mother-tongue and effective learning took the stage. Presenters re-echoed the role of mother tongue in effective learning and teaching. Thus, Nigeria action is separating us from the central teaching and learning process.
“I strongly align with the position of professional bodies like Nigerian Academy of Education (NAE), Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL), education experts like Prof Micheal Omolew and Prof. Pai Obanya and others.
“I appeal to our government to go the same way as international bodies and experts on the importance of mother-tongue for teaching and learning for the beginners.”
Meanwhile, a Kaduna-based educationist, Isiaka Bello, stated the decision of the Minister of Education would affect children in northern Nigeria the most, suggesting that the Minister have a rethink and reverse the decision.
He said: “The north is battling with the issue of out-of-school children which was worsened by the rising incidences of attacks from armed non state actors. Sadly, the children who are even in schools are not learning, as many of them could barely read or write fluently in English. The teachers are also lacking in so many knowledge and skills to do their work effectively.
“These school children are already used to Hausa language which is their mother-tongue. They have mastered the language very well because that’s their day-to-day means of communication. It will be wise to continue with the indigenous language policy as currently being implemented, and gradually introduce English and other foreign languages along the line instead of out rightly abolishing the policy.
He insisted that the use of English as language of instruction in schools is alien to the children, and might discourage them from coming to school, because they would feel disconnected because they don’t understand the language, effectively, and won’t be able to communicate or express themselves, freely.
Kate Emiene, an English teacher in a private school in Abuja, said she has mixed reaction and feeling regarding the decision to restore English as language of instruction in basic schools in Nigeria.
She said that, based on experience, the children that joined her school midway into the term especially from the northern part of the country often finds it difficult to adapt to the new environment because of their poor knowledge and grasp of the English language. They could barely express themselves, interact with the other children, hence the feel intimidated and isolated.
“This was as a result of poor education foundation. So, the use of mother-tongue for teaching and learning is not helping the children. This is because their examinations and other engagements with people outside their immediate community might not be in their mother-tongue. Besides, there are opportunities for indigenous languages like Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and other native languages, which are embedded in our curriculum.
“In 2014, a certain number of school children in SS3 were kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents in Chibok, Borno State. These children were said to be preparing or writing WAEC or NECO. To our greatest surprise, these children could not express themselves in simple English language. They could barely say or hear a word in English language. Does it mean NECO and WAEC set their examinations for them in their local languages? So, i support the decision of the government.”
Alternative suggestion
Meanwhile, in response to the development, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmed, stated that the government is implementing other measures to address learning challenges at the foundational level.
She said the government is designing a training package for teachers that focuses on literacy and numeracy, this specifically target teachers of pre-primary to primary one to three.
In addition to that, she said the government is training the teachers on the best methods to teach literacy and numeracy and the appropriate approach to classroom learning,” she said.
Undoubtedly, there are major regional disparities in terms of literacy level particularly in the North, and large numbers of out-of-school children contribute to the challenges, despite some progress in recent years.
The education minister disclosed that four out of the six geo-political zones are not even doing it. South-West, South-South, South-East and North-Central are still using English as the language of general instruction.
Secondly, we have 650 unique mother tongue languages in the country. So with our complexity, it will be tough to implement. Number two, the cost. We said three mother tongues: Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa.
Alausa said the instructional textbooks are not even written in the mother tongue language. Even if they are, when the students go for national and West African exams and they are written in English. The students were failing.
Defending government position, the minister said data are showing poor academic performance in areas where mother-tongue instruction had been emphasised.
