The Federal Government has officially cancelled the National Language Policy (NLP), which required the use of indigenous languages as the medium of instruction from early childhood to primary education.
Dr. Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, announced the reversal on Wednesday at the 2025 Language in Education International Conference organised by the British Council in Abuja.
Approved in 2022, the NLP aimed to promote cultural preservation and improve learning outcomes by encouraging the use of mother tongues in teaching from Early Child Care Education to Primary Six, while English was to remain the official language in later education.
However, Dr. Alausa stated that a comprehensive review and data analysis revealed that the policy negatively affected learning outcomes in several regions. “We have seen mass failure rates in WAEC, NECO, and JAMB in areas where the mother tongue policy was over-adopted,” he said.
“This is evidence-based governance. English will now serve as the language of instruction from pre-primary to tertiary education.”
The minister emphasised that the decision was driven by evidence, not sentiment, noting that students taught primarily in indigenous languages struggled with English comprehension. It recorded higher failure rates in national examinations.
Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmed, disclosed that new teacher training programmes are being developed to strengthen literacy and numeracy skills at the foundational level.
Donna McGowan, British Council Country Director, reaffirmed the Council’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s education reforms through enhanced teacher development, school leadership, and language proficiency initiatives.
