Nigerians Tongue-lash Government Over Ban on Indigenous Languages in Schools
TEC News| 14th November, 2025.
A cross-section of Nigerians has strongly criticised the Federal Government’s decision to cancel the use of indigenous languages as a medium of instruction in public schools, describing the move as “retrogressive” and disconnected from the real causes of poor student performance.
The backlash follows the government’s claim that pupils perform poorly in examinations because they are taught in their mother tongue. Many Nigerians have rejected this position, insisting that the crisis in education is rooted in decades of neglect and not in the use of local languages.
Education rights advocate, Hauwa Shinkafi, described the decision as “a lazy conclusion that ignores the rot in the system.”
“You cannot blame Hausa or Yoruba for exam failure,” she said. “Go and look at the schools—broken desks, no libraries, untrained teachers, and pupils who come to class hungry. That is where the problem is.”
Cultural historian, Dr. Ifeanyi Okolo, faulted the government’s assumption that English is automatically superior for learning.
“We were Hausa, Fulani, Igbo, Yoruba, Birom, Ibibio long before English arrived,” he noted. “France teaches in French, Germany in German. Are their children failing because they use their own languages? The argument simply doesn’t hold water.”
Parents also expressed frustration, pointing to worsening poverty and the inability of many households to meet basic needs.
A mother of three in Kaduna, Grace Audu, lamented that government officials were ignoring the lived realities of ordinary families.
“Children cannot learn when they are hungry or when their parents cannot afford transport to school,” she said. “This ban won’t solve anything. Fix poverty first.”
Teachers argued that the government was deflecting responsibility instead of addressing the systemic failures that have plagued the sector for years.
A public school teacher in Lagos, Mr. Samuel Ajayi, said:
“We need training, teaching materials, and modern classrooms. Changing the language of instruction will not magically improve performance.”
Education stakeholders insist that only a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s school system—along with policies that reduce poverty and improve staff welfare—can improve learning outcomes.
As public reactions continue to pour in, citizens are calling on the government to revisit the decision and pursue reforms that tackle the root causes of Nigeria’s learning crisis rather than laying blame on indigenous languages that form a fundamental part of the country’s identity.
