Published On 1 Dec 20221 Dec 2022
The Nigerian government has approved a new National Language Policy that will mandate the use of local languages as a language of instruction for primary school pupils and remove English.
The policy was announced by Nigeria’s Minister of Education Adamu Adamu on Wednesday after it was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in a meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, local media reported.
“[T]he government has agreed now that, henceforth, instruction in primary schools; the first six years of learning will be in the mother tongue,” the minister was quoted as saying.
English is Nigeria’s official language. It is also the language of instruction in all levels of education.
The objective of the new policy is “to promote, and enhance the cultivation and use of all Nigerian languages,” Adamu said.
There are about 625 local languages in Nigeria, he said, and the policy would be applied nationally.
Source: Aljazeera