The federal government has called for a significant reversal of its mother tongue education policy, while simultaneously pushing for expanded technical education and standardised admission age requirements in a series of sweeping educational reforms.
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Speaking at the 2025 Extraordinary National Council on Education Meeting in Abuja, Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, urged the council to limit mother tongue instruction to early childhood education and primary one, rolling back the current policy that extends through primary six.
“With over 500 languages in Nigeria, implementation becomes complex, making it difficult to select a dominant language in multilingual communities,” Ahmad said, citing implementation challenges including inconsistent execution and limited teaching materials.
The proposed reversal would significantly alter the November 2022 policy that mandated mother tongue instruction throughout primary education to preserve Nigerian languages and enhance foundational learning.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Dr. Tunji Alausa also announced plans to transform Federal Science and Technical Colleges into Federal Technical Colleges, emphasising practical skills development. “This transformation is not just a policy shift; it is a crucial step towards realigning our education system with the demands of an evolving economy and a technologically driven world,” he said.
Addressing youth unemployment, which affects a significant portion of Nigeria’s population under 30, Alausa highlighted the introduction of the TVET initiative to enhance technical and vocational education aligned with industry demands.
The meeting, attended by education commissioners from all 36 states and the FCT, also discussed standardising the minimum admission age of 16 years for tertiary institutions.
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