FG scraps mother tongue policy, adopts English for schools
The Federal Government has abolished the national policy that made indigenous languages the medium of instruction in Nigerian schools.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the policy reversal on Wednesday at the 2025 Language in Education International Conference organised by the British Council in Abuja.
The scrapped 2022 National Language Policy had directed that from early childhood education to primary six, teaching should be conducted in the mother tongue or the language of the immediate community, with English reserved for higher levels.
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However, Alausa said new evidence shows that using indigenous languages as the primary medium of instruction has contributed to poor academic performance among pupils across several regions.
“We have seen mass failure in WAEC, NECO, and JAMB in areas that adopted the mother tongue extensively,” he said. “This is about evidence-based governance. English now stands as the medium of instruction from pre-primary to tertiary education.”
The minister explained that data from schools revealed that students taught mainly in local languages recorded higher failure rates and struggled with English comprehension.
“The national policy on language has been cancelled. English now stands as the medium of instruction across all levels,” he declared, urging critics to present data-backed arguments if they disagreed.
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Alausa commended the British Council for partnering with Nigeria in promoting educational reforms.
Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Ahmed, also disclosed that the government is developing a new training package to strengthen literacy and numeracy skills among teachers at the foundational level.
British Council Country Director, Donna McGowan, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s education initiatives, particularly in teacher development, school leadership, and language proficiency.
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