The Federal Government has officially scrapped the National Language Policy that required schools across Nigeria to use indigenous languages as the medium of instruction from early childhood to primary education.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, during the 2025 Language in Education International Conference organised by the British Council in Abuja on Wednesday.
In 2022, the Federal Government approved the National Language Policy (NLP) to promote the use of mother tongues and local languages in early education.
The policy provided that from Early Child Care Education to Primary Six, teaching would be conducted in the language of the immediate community.
The aim was to foster cultural preservation, improve learning outcomes, and give indigenous languages equal recognition while English remained the official language in later education and formal communication.
Government’s New Position
Dr. Alausa announced that English will now serve as the medium of instruction from the pre-primary to tertiary education levels, reversing the 2022 decision.
According to him, extensive data analysis revealed that the mother tongue policy had a negative impact on learning outcomes in several regions.
“We have seen a mass failure rate in WAEC, NECO and JAMB in certain geo-political zones of the country, and those are the ones that adopted this mother tongue in an over-subscribed manner,” the minister said.
“This is about evidence-based governance. English now stands as the medium of instruction from the pre-primary, primary, junior secondary, senior secondary and to the tertiary education level,” he said.
Alausa added that the policy shift was based on evidence, not sentiment, noting that learning outcomes had declined since the introduction of the indigenous language approach.
“Using the mother tongue language in Nigeria for the past 15 years has literally destroyed education in certain regions. We have to talk about evidence, not emotions,” he added
Data-Driven Findings
The Minister explained that the decision was reached after a review of education data across states. According to him, students who were primarily taught in indigenous languages recorded higher failure rates in national examinations and struggled with basic English comprehension.
“The national policy on language has been cancelled. English now stands as the medium of instruction across all levels of education,” he declared.
- He encouraged educators and stakeholders who oppose the decision to present verifiable evidence to support their position, adding that the ministry remains open to further dialogue rooted in research and learning outcomes.
Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmed, highlighted new initiatives aimed at addressing literacy and numeracy challenges at the foundational level.
“Now we are designing a training package for the teachers that focuses on the learning of literacy and numeracy. This is specifically training teachers that teach across the foundation level from pre-primary to primary one to three,” she said.
“We are training them how best to teach literacy, how best to teach numeracy, and of course, the approach,” she added.
British Council Country Director Donna McGowan reaffirmed the Council’s support for Nigeria’s education reforms, saying it will continue partnering with the ministry to strengthen teacher development, school leadership, and language proficiency.
