The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the adoption of the mother tongue as a compulsory medium of instruction in primary schools in the country.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, disclosed this after the Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Adamu said that” the mother tongue will be used exclusively for the first six years of education, while it will be combined with the English language at the Junior Secondary School level and while the policy has officially taken effect, full implementation will start when government develops instructional materials and qualified teachers are engaged.
He explained that the mother tongue to be used in each school will be the dominant language spoken by the community where the institution is located.
The Minister disclosed that “the government is poised to preserve the indigenous cultures and their peculiar idiosyncrasies, lamenting, however, that much is lost due to the extinction of some local languages, just as he assured that all Nigeria languages were equal and will be treated as such.
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.” Adamu stated.
