ABUJA — The Nigerian Federal Government has officially scrapped its controversial 2022 National Language Policy, returning English as the sole medium of instruction in schools from early childhood through tertiary levels.
The policy reversal was announced by Education Minister Dr. Tunji Alausa at the 2025 Language in Education International Conference in Abuja on Wednesday.
Under the now-cancelled 2022 policy, students from early childhood education up to Primary Six were required to be taught in their mother tongue, or in the language of their immediate community.
However, Alausa argued that the mother-tongue approach had negatively impacted students’ academic performance in national exams like WAEC, NECO, and JAMB. He said the decision was driven by “evidence-based governance,” pointing to data that showed poorer outcomes in regions that heavily relied on indigenous languages for instruction.
The minister went further, declaring:
“Using the mother tongue language in Nigeria for the past 15 years has literally destroyed education in certain regions.”
He confirmed that English will now be the medium of instruction across all education levels from pre-primary to tertiary.
In response, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmed, said the government is rolling out a new training package for foundational-level teachers (pre-primary to Primary 3) to improve literacy and numeracy.
The move has drawn criticism. Anthony Osekhuemen Otaigbe, CEO of Izesan Limited, called the policy reversal a “step backward,” arguing that it undermines global evidence showing that children learn better in their first language.
Language experts have echoed these concerns, warning that dropping multilingual education risks widening educational inequalities especially in rural and culturally diverse areas.
The British Council, which hosted the conference, pledged continued support for Nigeria’s education reforms, including teacher development and language proficiency initiatives.