A member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Oladipupo Adebutu, on Saturday, called on the Federal Government to consider formulating a comprehensive language policy if the country must improve its education index and be set on the path of technological advancement.
Adebutu, who spoke shortly after he was conferred with the honourary doctorate degree in Public Administration by the Ekiti State University in Ado Ekiti, said what the country currently has are disparate policy pronouncements on language as contained in the 1999 Constitution and the National Policy on Education (NPE).
The lawmaker said many researches had proved beyond doubts that using mother tongue as a medium of instruction in schools in the early period remained the best means of transmitting knowledge and achieving wholesome cognitive development in children.
He lamented that although the 2004 edition of NPE stipulated the use of mother tongue as medium of instruction in the first three years of Primary school with English language being taught only as a subject, the Federal Government had refused to enforce the implementation of the policy leading to faulty foundations in the education of children.
Adebutu, scion of the billionaire pools magnate popularly called Baba Ijebu and who represents Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo North Federal Constituency, canvassed a reform of the tertiary education admission process in a way that would make a credit pass in an indigenous language compulsory for all courses.
“It is tragic that some privately-owned primary and secondary schools in the South-West zone do not offer Yoruba as a subject. In others, Yoruba is prohibited as a vernacular that pupils must avoid. This impairs their creative potential because they are forced early in life to think in a foreign language.
“A template to showcase that mother tongue education is the best for a child’s cognitive development was given by a former Minister of Education, Professor Aliu Babatunde Fafunwa between 1970 and 1989, through the famous Ife Six-Year Primary Project. Government at all levels should go and dust up the report of that project and see to its implementation.
“In the comprehensive language policy being canvassed, the Federal Government should meticulously assign greater roles to the indigenous languages than they currently enjoy. This will act as a catalyst for our national goal and aspiration of achieving technological development.
“In addition, a credit pass in any indigenous language should be made compulsory for admission into any higher institution in the country. This will go a long way in changing the negative attitude of Nigerians towards the indigenous languages. A credit pass in English for admission into post-secondary school as we currently have it is good,” he said.
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