The Federal Government has officially banned the use of indigenous languages as a medium of instruction in Nigerian schools, declaring English as the only approved language of teaching from early childhood to tertiary level.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, made the announcement on Wednesday during the Language in Education International Conference 2025 organised by the British Council in Abuja.
The two-day event, themed “Language, Education and Inclusion: Empowering Every Learner,” gathered policymakers, educators, and language experts from Africa, South Asia, and the United Kingdom to discuss education strategies through language.
Dr. Alausa explained that while local languages remain vital for cultural preservation, English offers a more effective and globally competitive medium for learning.
“The English language should be used to teach our students at all levels as a means of instruction,” he said. “Over the years, the use of mother tongues in schools has contributed to poor performance in national examinations. The national policy on language has therefore been cancelled.”
The minister described English as a “unifying tool” for Nigeria’s ethnically diverse society and stated that studies have shown students taught primarily in English outperform their peers in WAEC, NECO, and JAMB examinations.
He emphasised that the new directive reflects a shift from emotional attachment to indigenous identity towards evidence-based educational policy aimed at improving national academic outcomes.
Meanwhile, the British Council reaffirmed its commitment to promoting inclusive and equitable education across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Julian Parry, Director of English Programmes for the region, noted that language can serve as “a bridge to inclusion, identity, and opportunity.”
Also speaking, Chikodi Onyemerela, the British Council’s Director of Programmes in Nigeria, highlighted the organisation’s Pan-Ethnic Classrooms Programme, launched in 2015, which helps teachers apply inclusive and language-responsive teaching practices.
The new policy is expected to reshape Nigeria’s educational landscape, marking a definitive turn away from the use of indigenous languages in formal classroom instruction.