News Agency of Nigeria
In a bold move aimed at reshaping Nigeria’s education system, the federal government has called on the National Council on Education (NCE) and other stakeholders to approve a reversal of the current policy that mandates the use of mother tongue as the medium of instruction in primary schools.
Suwaiba Ahmad, the Minister of State for Education, made the appeal during the 2025 Extraordinary National Council on Education Meeting in Abuja on Thursday.
She urged the council to reconsider the policy and confine the use of mother tongue to Early Childhood Care Development and Education (ECCDE) as well as Primary One.
“The policy was originally introduced to preserve our indigenous languages and enhance foundational learning,” Ahmad explained. However, she pointed out several significant challenges hindering its successful implementation.
“Inconsistencies in policy execution, especially in urban areas and some parts of the country, impede implementation. We use English from the start, contradicting the policy. With over 500 languages in Nigeria, implementation becomes complex, making it difficult to select a dominant language in multilingual communities. Limited availability of instructional materials and textbooks, among other factors, hinders implementation,” Ahmad elaborated.
Despite its original intent to improve education quality, the mother tongue policy has struggled to gain traction. The NCE had previously advocated for the use of local languages in the first three years of primary education, but the Federal Executive Council approved its implementation only in November 2022.
Ahmad emphasized that the ministry and NCE must initiate a review of the policy to implement the necessary changes and ensure better educational outcomes for Nigeria’s young learners.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, also took the opportunity to propose a significant reform to Nigeria’s education system. He suggested the integration of secondary education into basic education, extending the total duration to 12 years, in line with global best practices and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4).
“Subsuming secondary education into basic education is necessary to improve access, retention, and completion,” Alausa said. “By making secondary education a part of basic education, students will benefit from uninterrupted learning up to the age of 16. This reform will also reduce dropout rates by eliminating financial and systemic barriers that currently prevent students from completing secondary education.”
Alausa also advocated for the conversion of the Federal Science and Technical Colleges (FSTCs) into Federal Technical Colleges (FTCs). This, he explained, would align technical education with the demands of a rapidly evolving economy.
“This transformation is not just a policy shift; it is a crucial step towards realigning our education system with the demands of an evolving economy and a technologically driven world,” he stated. He also underscored the growing importance of technical and vocational education, particularly in addressing the country’s high youth unemployment rate.
“With over 60 percent of the Nigerian population under 30, we are confronted with the challenge of youth unemployment. My administration introduced the TVET initiative to restructure and enhance technical and vocational education in Nigeria, aligning educational outcomes with industry demands,” he added.
Another critical area discussed during the meeting was the incorporation of a 16-year minimum admission age policy for tertiary institutions into the NCE framework. This initiative seeks to standardize entry requirements for tertiary education across the country.
The meeting brought together key figures in Nigeria’s education sector, including commissioners for education from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), heads of various educational agencies, international organizations, and the deputy governor of Kano State.
