The Federal Government has repealed the 2022 National Language Policy and restored English as the exclusive language of instruction at all levels of education in Nigeria.
This decision was disclosed on Wednesday by the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, at the opening of the 2025 Language in Education International Conference organised by the British Council in Abuja.
According to Alausa, the policy reversal, endorsed at the 69th National Council on Education (NCE) meeting held in Akure, Ondo State, between November 3 and 7, was based on research findings indicating poor academic performance in areas where the mother-tongue system was widely implemented.
“We have seen mass failure rates in WAEC, NECO, and JAMB in certain geo-political zones of the country, and those are the ones that adopted the mother tongue in an oversubscribed manner. English now stands as the medium of instruction from pre-primary to tertiary education. This is about evidence-based governance,” Alausa said.
According to him, a comprehensive review conducted by the ministry revealed that pupils taught primarily in indigenous languages recorded weaker academic performance, especially in English proficiency, which is critical for further education and employment opportunities.
The minister described the previous policy as having “destroyed” parts of Nigeria’s education system, adding that students in some regions advanced to higher classes without acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills.
“The national policy on language has been cancelled. English is now the language of instruction across all levels of education in Nigeria. The use of mother tongue from Primary One to Primary Six, and even in some junior secondary schools, led to poor comprehension and abysmal performance,” he stated.
Alausa also noted that Nigeria’s linguistic diversity made uniform implementation impractical. He cited examples from Lagos, where pupils and teachers often speak different native languages, and from Borno, where multiple indigenous tongues complicate instruction.
The minister stressed that government decisions must be guided by measurable results, not sentiments. He, however, invited academics and stakeholders with contrary evidence to submit verifiable data for further dialogue.
“This decision is not political; it is practical. We are aligning our education policy with what works, and the evidence shows that English does,” he added.
The Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Ahmed, announced that the government is developing a new training package to enhance teachers’ capacity in literacy and numeracy.
“We are designing a training programme focused on improving teachers’ ability to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic effectively, especially at the foundational level,” she said.
British Council Country Director, Donna McGowan, commended the government’s renewed commitment to educational quality and inclusivity, pledging continued collaboration in teacher development, school leadership, and English proficiency.
The now-cancelled National Language Policy, introduced in 2022 under the previous administration, had required that children from Early Childhood Education to Primary Six be taught in their mother tongue or the language of their immediate community. It was intended to promote indigenous languages, strengthen cultural identity, and improve learning comprehension at the foundational stage.
However, the policy faced major challenges, including the lack of teaching materials, insufficiently trained teachers, and Nigeria’s linguistic complexity, with over 600 native languages — 29 of which are already extinct.
