Abstract
The emergence of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Programme in Nigeria was in September 1999. The Programme was amended in 2008 by the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC). This yielded a great landmark for introducing and developing the 9-Year Basic Education Curriculum (BEC) which was aimed enabling every Nigerian citizen access to equivalent education comprehensively and coeducationally. Similarly, Nigeria's national language policy which focused on the official structure of the English language as an official medium of instruction from primary four to subsequent levels of education, while the mother tongue or the language of the immediate community to be the medium of instruction at pre-primary and early primary levels has left a wide gap which may serve as one of the factors or reasons that may affect the communicative competence of pupils or learners in handling English as a subject or medium of instruction. Especially, considering the designed objectives of inculcating in the school childrens’ permanent literacy, numeracy and the ability to communicate effectively which lays the concrete educational foundation of pupils in terms of language development. The common criticisms or observations that this paper may raise on the issue of language policy and that of UBE is lack of a well-articulated transition from the mother tongue to English, or lack of proper implementation of the policy, as language cannot be properly taught using another language. Therefore, the paper draws the attention of policymakers and curriculum designers in revising and restructuring the language policy in order to ascertain the objectives designed by UBE and the educational policy in general.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0940/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>
Highlights
Language as a Medium of Instruction has for long been a controversial issue in Nigeria
The above prescribed that the Mother Tongue (MT) or the Language of the Immediate Community (LIC) should serve as the medium of instruction at both Pre-basic and Early Basic Education levels (Primary 1-3) while the English language serves as a subject of study
There have been many pieces of research and observations made by scholars and some Nigerian elites to assess the significance of the implementation of the National Language Policy provision in the country
Summary
Language as a Medium of Instruction has for long been a controversial issue in Nigeria. English language as the medium of instruction has been largely spoken in the Southern part of Nigeria. This is as result of the earlier contact and response of the region to Christianity and western education compared to the Northern region where Islamic Missionaries had a stronghold. Without paying much cognizance to these differences, the colonial authority amalgamated the Southern and the Northern Protectorates in 1914 for ease of governance and made the English language an European Journal of Foreign Language Teaching - Volume 5 │ Issue 6 │ 2021. While the major indigenous language of Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba should be thought as school subjects (FRN, 1999)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
