In an interview with ARISE News on Sunday, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, explained the rationale behind the policy adjustment. “Now, we’ve not banned the use of indigenous language in school. “No doubt, there is evidence that shows that mother tongue as the language of instruction helps kids learn better, but then it’s about deployment. He said the policy was originally meant for Primary One to Primary Three, after which instruction should switch to English. The minister added that analysis of literacy and numeracy rates showed regions that over-implemented the policy were “lagging far behind compared to regions that did not implement it.

Source: Punch January 26, 2026 17:18 UTC