The Federal Government has officially cancelled the National Language Policy mandating the use of indigenous languages as the medium of instruction in schools, declaring English as the sole language of instruction across all levels of education in Nigeria.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, during the 2025 Language in Education International Conference organized by the British Council in Abuja on Wednesday.
The now-suspended National Language Policy (NLP), approved in 2022, had directed that pupils from Early Childhood Education to Primary Six be taught in their mother tongue or the language of their immediate community. The initiative was introduced to promote indigenous languages, enhance early learning, and recognize linguistic diversity.
However, Dr. Alausa explained that recent data and performance metrics from national examinations revealed that the use of mother tongues as the main medium of instruction had negatively affected learning outcomes in several regions.
“We have seen a mass failure rate in WAEC, NECO, and JAMB in regions where the mother tongue was adopted extensively,” Alausa said. “This is about evidence-based governance. English now stands as the medium of instruction from pre-primary to tertiary education.”
He added that findings from research across the country showed that students taught primarily in indigenous languages performed poorly in English comprehension and recorded lower grades in public examinations.
“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 said.
The minister reaffirmed that the national language policy has been cancelled, emphasizing that English will now be used exclusively as the language of teaching and learning nationwide.
He also called on stakeholders and researchers who support indigenous language education to present verifiable data to support their stance, noting that the government remains open to evidence-based dialogue that strengthens education quality.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmed, said the ministry is introducing a new teacher training package focusing on literacy and numeracy to address foundational learning challenges.
“We are training teachers who teach at the foundation level — from pre-primary to primary three — on how best to teach literacy and numeracy effectively,” she said.
Also speaking, the Country Director of the British Council Nigeria, Donna McGowan, reaffirmed the council’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s education reforms.
“We’re committed to working hand-in-hand with the ministry. We support teacher professional development, school leadership, and language proficiency,” McGowan said.
The latest policy reversal marks a major shift in Nigeria’s education landscape — steering away from multilingual learning towards a unified English-based instructional model aimed at improving national academic performance and competitiveness.
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