Go To Surelere, Half Of The Students There Are Yoruba. But Most Of Their Teachers Are Igbo- Alausa

Minister of Education Tunji Alausa recently spoke with The Punch correspondent, on the major issues facing the education sector and the reforms introduced by the current administration.

When asked about the Federal Government’s recent decision to scrap the national policy requiring the use of indigenous languages as the medium of instruction in schools, the minister explained that the move was based on practical considerations.

He noted that evidence shows children learn more effectively when taught in their mother tongue during the early stages of education. The original policy intended for children to be instructed in local languages from Primary 1 to Primary 4.

However, he observed, the policy was not being consistently implemented, with four of the six geo-political zones still using English as the main language of instruction.

The minister also highlighted the challenges posed by the country’s linguistic diversity. With over 650 distinct mother tongue languages, implementing a uniform policy proved extremely difficult.

He cited examples such as Borno State, where a significant portion of the population speaks Kanuri rather than Hausa, and parts of Lagos, such as Ajegunle, where many children come from South-Eastern backgrounds and should ideally learn in Igbo, but are taught by teachers who may not speak their mother tongue.

He added that the high cost and logistical complexities of accommodating multiple local languages in schools also contributed to the decision to revise the policy.

Further talking, he said, “Go to Surulere, half of the students there are Yoruba. But most of their teachers are Igbo. So, where is the mother tongue?

“So, by pushing the mother tongue campaign, you create more inequality, and with about 650 dialects, we’ve a culturally diverse society in the country.

“So, the complexity of implementing the mother tongue is not applicable. It is possible in China; they simply have Chinese. It is okay in India; they’ve Hindi.”

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