According to the new National Language Policy, which was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), all students in grades Primary 1 through Primary 6 must receive instruction in their mother tongue.
The results of a council meeting held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja under the chairmanship of President Muhammadu Buhari were disclosed by Nigeria's Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, during a press conference on Wednesday.
He stated that instruction would be given exclusively in the student's mother tongue for the first six years of school and then in a bilingual format starting in junior high, despite the fact that the government is aware that this will be a difficult policy to implement.
Adamu said that while the policy has gone into effect, it will be fully implemented once the government creates appropriate educational materials and enough trained educators are hired.
He elaborated on how each school’s mother tongue would reflect the language most commonly spoken in its surrounding neighbourhood.
The Minister lamented the loss of knowledge due to the disappearance of some local languages, saying that the government is committed to preserving cultures and their unique idiosyncrasies.
He gave his word that all Nigerian languages would be given the same respect.