The Federal Government of Nigeria has officially scrapped the National Language Policy that mandated the use of indigenous languages as the medium of instruction from early childhood education through primary school. The decision was announced by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, on Wednesday at the 2025 Language in Education International Conference organized by the British Council in Abuja. The new directive designates English as the sole language of instruction across all educational levels from pre-primary to tertiary institutions.
The now-cancelled mother tongue policy, introduced in 2022, required that teaching from Early Child Care Education to Primary Six be conducted in the child’s mother tongue or the immediate environment’s language. The policy was intended to promote indigenous languages and enhance pupils’ comprehension in their formative academic years. However, Dr. Alausa cited government reviews and data analysis showing that students educated primarily in local languages experienced higher failure rates in national exams such as WAEC, NECO, and JAMB.
He stated, “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.”
Describing the policy reversal as evidence-based governance rather than an emotional decision, the Minister remarked, “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.” The government’s data demonstrated that English medium instruction led to better academic outcomes. “English now stands as the medium of instruction from pre-primary, primary, junior secondary, senior secondary, and up to the tertiary level,” Alausa declared, adding that the national language policy on indigenous languages has been cancelled.
The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmed, also spoke about new initiatives to support the transition, revealing that a teacher training package is being designed to boost literacy and numeracy skills for educators handling pupils from pre-primary to Primary Three. She explained, “We are designing a training package for teachers that focuses on the learning of literacy and numeracy — specifically for those teaching from pre-primary to primary three.”
The British Council’s Country Director, Donna McGowan, praised the Nigerian government for its commitment to evidence-based educational reforms and pledged ongoing collaboration. “We’re committed to working hand-in-hand with the ministry. We work across all areas of education in terms of supporting teacher professional development, school leadership, and language proficiency,” McGowan said.
The move to scrap the indigenous language policy is likely to spark further debate among education stakeholders. Many have long argued that early education in a child’s native language enhances comprehension and preserves cultural identity. However, the government insists that the decision to pivot exclusively to English is grounded in empirical data aimed at reversing a persistent decline in student performance on public examinations.
