The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the use of mother tongue as a compulsory medium of instruction in primary schools in the country.
Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, disclosed this to State House correspondents after the week’s council meeting, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said the mother tongue would be used exclusively for the first six years of education and combined with the English language from Junior Secondary School.
Adamu said though the policy had officially taken effect, it could only be fully implemented when government develops instructional materials and qualified teachers are available.
He said the mother tongue to be used in each school would be the dominant language spoken by the community where it is located.
Adamu said the government was determined to preserve the cultures of the people and their peculiar idiosyncrasies.
He lamented that so much had been lost due to the extinction of some local languages.
