The National Council on Education (NCE) recently cancelled the policy advocating the use of mother tongue (MT) as the medium of instruction in Nigeria’s basic schools. Experts say this move reflects practical challenges, not rejection of the pedagogical principle.

Origins of the MT Policy

• Developed in the 1970s under Prof. Babatunde Fafunwa, the policy was based on research showing that children learn best when taught in their indigenous language.
• Yoruba was initially tested at St. Stephen’s Primary School, Modakeke, Ife.
• English was taught as a separate subject, while MT was the medium for all instruction.

Challenges Faced

1. Linguistic Diversity
   • Nigeria has over 500 indigenous languages.
   • Students and teachers often come from different linguistic backgrounds, making inclusive MT instruction impractical.
2. Teacher Shortages
   • Few educators are trained to teach in local languages.
3. Lack of Materials
   • Limited textbooks, digital resources, and instructional content in local languages.
4. Regional Inequities
   • Uneven implementation across states; some regions lag in literacy and numeracy.
   • Example: North West literacy: 9.4%, North East: 12.7%, South East: 55.8% (UNICEF, 2023).
5. Mobility and Migration
   • Children moving across states face massive learning loss when switching MT instruction.
6. Economic and Logistical Costs
   • Scaling MT education across hundreds of languages is financially untenable.
7. Global Competitiveness
   • Exams and digital resources are in English, making English-medium instruction more practical.

Expert Opinions

• Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT): MT policy is difficult to implement in cosmopolitan areas; focus should be on improving teacher quality, infrastructure, and learning conditions.
• Joseph Ayodele (Africa Brands Review): MT is educationally risky and economically impractical due to linguistic diversity and internal migration.
• Femi Michael (retired Lagos Ministry of Education official): Policy has not improved learning outcomes; emphasizes the importance of English for exams and global competitiveness.

Recommendations

• Focus on English-medium instruction with strong foundational literacy and numeracy.
• Develop teacher training, digital learning resources, and curriculum harmonization.
• Ensure equity and inclusion, allowing learners to understand the language of instruction and perform well nationally.
• Federal Ministry of Education implementing reforms such as teacher capacity building, digital training, and result-based financing to improve learning outcomes.

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Bottom line: While mother tongue instruction has pedagogical merit, Nigeria’s linguistic diversity, teacher shortages, lack of materials, and economic constraints made the policy largely unimplementable. The focus has shifted to quality English-medium education for inclusivity, learning, and national competitiveness.