FEF Urges FG to Sustain Mother Tongue Education Policy

Uchechukwu Nnaike

The Fafunwa Educational Foundation (FEF) has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to reinstate the mother-tongue policy, saying that its reversal undermines Nigeria’s cultural and linguistic heritage and reinforces harmful assumptions about the inferiority of indigenous languages.

Instead of retreating, the foundation advised the government to work with state and local authorities, research institutions, university language departments, the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL), and other stakeholders to strengthen indigenous languages as effective tools of instruction.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, attributed the reversal to poor examination performance in regions that implemented the policy, citing results from the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the National Examinations Council (NECO), and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

In a statement jointly signed by Sheri Fafunwa-Ndibe, member of the Board of Trustees, and Muyiwa Obiyomi, Secretary, the foundation described the conclusion as hasty and unfounded, saying that while academic performance has declined nationally, decades of research do not support the claim that mother-tongue instruction is to blame.

“On the contrary, extensive evidence shows that children learn best in the language they understand most naturally. This reality was demonstrated in the landmark Ife Primary Education Research Project (1970–1978), led by the late Prof Aliu Babatunde Fafunwa, founder of the foundation. Pupils taught in Yoruba achieved stronger literacy, numeracy, and overall comprehension than peers taught initially in English, and later outperformed them in external examinations, including English.

“Similar findings by scholars such as Professor Babatunde Ipaye and international experience from countries including Japan, China, Spain, Portugal, and Israel further strengthen this consensus. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) also consistently affirms that children taught in their mother tongue show significantly higher reading comprehension by the end of primary and lower secondary school,” the foundation said.

It argued that the challenges Nigeria has faced with the policy stem from weak implementation, particularly inadequate funding, insufficient teacher training, and lack of instructional materials, not from flaws in the concept of mother-tongue education itself.

The statement noted that “a major reform cannot succeed without proper investment and planning” and that the concerns that Nigeria lacks enough teachers fluent in indigenous languages only highlight the need for capacity building, not policy abandonment.

“Likewise, the fact that WAEC and JAMB are conducted in English does not undermine the value of early mother-tongue instruction. Children are taught English as a subject and, as evidence shows, those who start in their first language ultimately perform better in English and other subjects,” the foundation stated.

It also mentioned that language is not merely a medium of learning; it carries culture, identity, and history.

“Strengthening mother-tongue education is both an educational necessity and a cultural responsibility. Current challenges are reasons to improve implementation, not reasons to abandon a proven policy that supports learning, equity, and long-term academic success,” FEF said.