NAE Chides FG For Scrapping Mother Tongue Policy, Raises Alarm Over Rising School Attacks.

The Nigerian Academy of Education (NAE) has sharply criticised the Federal Government’s decision to scrap the National Language Policy, urging Minister of Education, Maruf Alausa, to reverse the move and restore mother tongue instruction at the foundational levels of schooling.

In a position paper submitted to the minister on November 25 and released to journalists on Friday, the Academy argued that extensive research supports early education in indigenous languages, noting that it improves learning outcomes, strengthens cultural identity and promotes inclusive national development.

The statement, signed by NAE President, Emeritus Prof. Olugbemiro Jegede, and Secretary-General, Prof. Chris Chukwurah, described the policy reversal as a “grave disservice” to Nigeria’s educational progress. It warned that abolishing mother tongue instruction without proper evaluation amounted to “permanent recolonisation and the burial of Nigeria’s future and pride.”

The Federal Government recently cancelled the 2022 National Language Policy and reinstated English as the sole medium of instruction at all levels — a position Minister Alausa restated at the 2025 Language in Education Conference organised by the British Council in Abuja.

But the NAE insisted that findings from historic programmes such as the Ife Six-Year Primary Project, along with more recent bilingual education studies, consistently show that learners taught first in their native languages perform better academically — including in English — than those introduced prematurely to foreign-language instruction.

The Academy faulted the minister’s rationale for the policy change, maintaining that poor performance in public examinations cannot be attributed to mother tongue instruction, which ends at Primary Four. It added that no empirical evidence supports claims that indigenous language teaching has undermined learning outcomes in the past 15 years.

While calling for the immediate reinstatement of the policy, the NAE urged the government to strengthen implementation through teacher training, improved learning materials, stakeholder engagement and regular evidence-based reviews. Safeguarding early-grade learning in Nigerian languages, it said, is essential to preserving national heritage and preventing further decline in literacy.

The Academy reaffirmed its readiness to collaborate with the Ministry of Education to build a functional, culturally grounded education system for future generations.

In a separate statement issued on Tuesday, the NAE also decried the resurgence of school attacks by terrorists, warning that Nigeria’s education sector is “under siege” and edging toward collapse as assaults on schools continue to devastate learners, teachers and communities.

According to the Academy, at least 92 school invasions, 2,500 abductions, more than 180 children killed, 90 injured and over 90 still missing have been recorded since the 2014 Chibok abduction — the latest being the November 21 attack on St. Mary’s School in Niger State. It added that more than one million children now live in fear of attending school.

“These are not statistics but shattered dreams, grieving families and a generation at risk,” the statement said, lamenting that education — the bedrock of national development — is being eroded by mounting violence.

While acknowledging government interventions such as the Safe Schools Declaration and the National Plan for Financing Safe Schools, the NAE argued that these measures remain grossly inadequate and have created “a false sense of security,” with schools in the North-East and Middle Belt still soft targets.

The Academy warned that insecurity has eroded public confidence, leaving schools without basic governance structures, emergency response systems or secure infrastructure. It said the psychological toll on learners, teachers and families is severe — from trauma and anxiety to burnout and emotional breakdown — with ripple effects on the wider economy as millions remain out of school and communities face long-term displacement.

Calling for decisive intervention, the NAE demanded full protection for learners and school personnel in line with national and international obligations, stiffer penalties for perpetrators, improved intelligence coordination, trauma care for victims and compensation for bereaved families.

“Education is the lifeblood of any nation. If Nigeria fails to protect its schools and its young ones, it fails to protect its future,” the Academy warned, urging the government, security agencies and civil society to move beyond rhetoric. “The time for promises has passed. The time for results is now.”