The native tongue will be used exclusively for the first six years of education, according to Adamu Adamu, the minister of education, who was speaking to the media. Beginning in junior secondary school, it will be blended with the English language.
He claimed that the officially implemented program could only be completely carried out once the government created teaching resources and hired qualified instructors.
According to him, each school would utilize the language that is most often spoken in the neighbourhood where it is located as the mother tongue.
Adamu said the government pursued the policy to preserve cultures and their peculiar idiosyncrasies as so much had been lost due to the extinction of some local languages.
The minister assured that all Nigerian languages are equal and will be treated as such.
He said: “The government has agreed now that henceforth, instruction in primary schools; the first six years of learning will be in the mother tongue.”
According to him, the decision is only in principle for now as it will require a lot of work to implement it.
“Theoretically, this policy starts from today, and the use of the 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, where 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,” he added.
“Pupils learn much better when instructions are in their own mother tongue at that level. But while getting instructions in their mother tongue, they’ll be taught other Nigerian languages of their choice and they’ll be taught international languages at certain stages: English, French, Arabic, and so on.
“Mother tongue is mother tongue, don’t think when we say mother tongue, pupils will be taught in Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba only,” he further explained.
An educationist, Olasunkanmi Opeifa, in a chat described the new language policy as a good development.
“Indigenous languages, especially if it’s the language of the immediate community, will serve as a leveller for all learners. While English would be a subject, instructions on other subjects should be passed across the language of the immediate community,” he said.
