The Federal Government, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has called on the National Council on Education (NCE) to reconsider its stance on using mother tongues as the primary medium of instruction from Primary One to Six.
Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, made this proposal during the 2025 Extraordinary NCE Meeting in Abuja on Thursday, 6th February. She suggested limiting mother tongue instruction to Early Childhood Care Development and Education (ECCDE) and Primary One due to implementation challenges.
Ahmad highlighted key issues, including multilingual complexities in urban areas, a lack of instructional materials in various languages, and difficulties selecting dominant languages in diverse communities.
On a related note, Minister of Education Dr. Tunji Alausa proposed extending basic education to 12 years to align with global standards and reduce dropout rates. He also recommended transforming Federal Science and Technical Colleges (FSTCs) into Federal Technical Colleges (FTCs) to emphasize practical skill development.
