Federal Government of Nigeria has approved the use of local language (mother tongue) as a mandatory language for teaching and learning in primary schools across the country.
The approval was announced by Education Minister, Adamu Adamu after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday.
The minister said the adoption of the mother tongue would be used exclusively for the first six years of education while it would be combined with English language from Junior Secondary School (JSS) and assured the nation that all Nigerian languages are equal and would be treated as such.
Adamu, however, conceded that government was aware that the implementation would be difficult and noted that the decision is only in principle for now, because it would require a lot of work to implement it.
“A memo on national policy was approved by the council. So, Nigeria now has a National Language Policy and the details will be given later by the ministry.
“One of the highlights is that the government has agreed now that henceforth, instruction in primary schools, the first six years of learning, will be in the mother tongue.
“Theoretically, this policy starts from today but and the use of mother tongue is exclusive. But we need time to develop the material, get the teachers and so on. Since the first six years of school should be in the mother tongue, wherever the pupil is, the language of the host community is what will be used.
“Because we have 625 languages at the last count and the objective of this policy is to promote and enhance the cultivation and use of all Nigerian languages.”
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