Million School Children Have Learning Poverty

•Can’t read age appropriate texts at age of 10 years

•Presents position paper on role of language in education

•Explains why FG is implementing comprehensive reform package

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has highlighted why Nigeria needs to overhaul the learning processes in the education sector, describing the situation as an emergency which requires urgent attention.

In a position paper by the minister, he argued that despite high enrolment 45  million children aged seven and 14 cannot read a simple sentence, while learning outcomes remain unacceptably low.

Quoting UNICEF data, he stressed that the crisis remains uneven, with the North-west bearing the largest burden with a literacy rate of 9.4 per cent and Numeracy rate of 8.3 per cent rating, followed by the North-east with 12 per cent and 10.7 per cent respectively.

Besides, he noted that North-central has a literacy and numeracy rates of 24.3 per cent and 22.7 per cent respectively, while the South-west has 45.8 per cent and 46.7 per cent rates. The South-east has the highest literacy and numeracy rates at 55.8 per cent and 52 per cent, while the South-south has 37 per cent and 34 per cent respectively.

“Nigeria is in a learning emergency. Despite high enrolment, 45 million children aged 7–14 still cannot read a simple sentence, and learning outcomes remain unacceptably low.

The crisis is uneven across the country”, he argued.

According to him, the data demonstrates that Nigeria’s children are facing a severe and uneven learning crisis, with some regions lagging far behind in both literacy and numeracy. The gap between schooling and actual learning, he said, reflects a system-wide decline in education quality.

In response, Alausa pointed out that the Federal Ministry of Education is implementing a comprehensive reform package aimed at improving the quality of education and learning outcomes.

These, he said, include the review of pre-service teacher training, nationwide capacity building for teachers, school leaders, monitoring and evaluation officers, digital training with incentives, and the establishment of teacher Communities of Practice (CoP).

Other initiatives, according to the minister, cover school grading, the Safe Schools Initiative, revised UBEC guidelines for state-targeted support, results-based financing (P4R), and partnerships with private schools to reduce out-of-school children.

Alausa stated that the language policy review is one component of this broader effort, designed to help children learn effectively, stressing that although it is not the sole focus but one of many measures aimed at ensuring children acquire real learning and foundational skills, equipping them with a competitive advantage for future success.

“As Nigeria continues to reform its education system under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, inclusive language-in-education policies remain central to our commitment to achieving SDG 4 and the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16–25).

“Language-in-education policies in multilingual societies must be guided by evidence-based frameworks. Research in linguistics, psycholinguistics, and sociocultural theory supports the notion that learners acquire cognitive and literacy skills more effectively in their first language…

“Nigeria’s National Policy on Education (NPE) 1977, 1981, 1998, 2004, 2007 and 2013 articulates that the mother tongue or language of the immediate community should be the language of instruction in pre-primary and lower primary education. This policy framework is theoretically sound, rooted in constructivist principles and aligned with international best practices. However, gaps in implementation remain substantial,” he explained.

However, with over 500 indigenous languages spoken, he stated that Nigeria is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world and has English as an official language. While this richness offers cultural strength, the minister argued that it presents operational complexity in educational planning.

“For example, a teacher posted or employed to schools (Private/Public) in Northern part of Nigeria who could not speak the local language cannot be able to implement the policy of using mother tongue. Likewise, someone from the North, East or South posted to any of the regions will not be able to teach the learners in that regard.

“Another example is the learners themselves that come from different backgrounds and converge on the same class. It will be difficult to use the mother tongue of that area to teach them. If mother tongue is used, then there will be no inclusivity thereby depriving other students from learning,” he said.

According to him, despite a policy commitment to the use of mother tongue in early education, implementation remains inconsistent due to limited development of orthographies and learning materials in many Nigerian languages as well as inadequate teacher training and deployment in multilingual pedagogies.

Besides, he listed regional and social preferences for English as a medium of upward mobility; insufficient funding and decentralisation of curriculum and instructional design as well as inequality amongst states in terms of over-subscription and under-subscription.

“The transition becomes very difficult in most of the states whereby the teaching with mother tongue continues up to senior secondary schools’ level. This makes the students at the disadvantaged side because at the end of the day, they all write National Examinations in English with their counterparts in all the regions,” he maintained.

But he noted that the integration of digital platforms in education, especially post-COVID, present both opportunities and equity challenges, stressing that most digital content is not yet available in local languages, reinforcing linguistic exclusion.

To effectively empower all learners through language, Nigeria, he said, proposes a five-pronged strategic approach, including: Policy renewal and harmonisation; teacher preparation and capacity building; curriculum and material development as well as technology for language inclusion.

“Meaningful learning begins with understanding. Whether it is a girl in Sokoto, a boy in Borno, a nomadic child in Plateau, or learners in Rivers, Ekiti, or Enugu, education in a language they comprehend builds confidence, dignity, and agency.

“Thoughtful English-medium instruction ensures all learners can engage with the curriculum, perform in national examinations, and access jobs and opportunities fairly, reducing linguistic or regional exclusion.

“Nigeria is committed to an education system where no child is disadvantaged by language, supported by political will, partnerships, funding, and regional collaboration,” he said.

​