Abia State Governor Alex Otti has declared that fears about using indigenous languages for early childhood education in Nigeria are exaggerated, saying the country can learn from China, India, and South Korea, where children are taught in indigenous languages without compromising educational and developmental progress.

Otti stated this at the 24th yearly symposium of the Fafunwa Educational Foundation (FEF) and the 19th  Post-Doctoral Awards in Education held at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

The programme, themed ‘What does the research say? Mother tongue instruction and the future of early education in Nigeria, brought together educators, policy makers, government officials, parents, and the media to examine research evidence on the impact of mother tongue instruction on learning outcomes.

He acknowledged that concerns about the approach were real but said Nigeria could learn from countries where early education was driven by indigenous languages.

Otti said, “The fears, I have to admit, are real, but we may also have to look at a few countries where early education is driven by indigenous languages, including South Korea, India and China. In doing so, we may learn a few lessons from the success they have achieved over the years.”

In November 2025, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, reversed the 2022 National Language Policy, which stipulated that the language of instruction from early childhood to primary six should be the mother tongue or the language of the immediate community.

Alausa said English would now be the language of instruction from primary through tertiary levels, hinging on the decision on challenges posed by Nigeria’s regional linguistic disparities and the dissonance of conducting examinations in English, while children were taught through their mother tongue.

Otti urged policymakers to address the challenges associated with using local languages rather than rejecting the approach.

He said whatever good is seen around the world took its roots from the seed of an idea, describing ideas as the true capital while everything else is complementary.

He described Professor Babatunde Fafunwa, Nigeria’s first professor of education and former Minister of Education, as a man of ideas, dreamer and pathfinder who believed in the power of the trained mind to accomplish great things.

He thanked the foundation for keeping alive the memory of the erudite scholar, noting that beyond his work as teacher, administrator and reformer, he was known for warmth and generosity of spirit, lived above the limitations of parochialism, opened his home to all people and embraced persons of every racial, ethnic and cultural background, embodying true learning through humane disposition.

On the theme, Otti said the relevance of using mother tongues as the primary language of instruction in early education is very relevant to the evolution of education, especially at the foundational level, and it is fulfilling that FEF is keeping alive compelling, research-supported observations made decades ago by Fafunwa and others that children learn better when taught in indigenous languages.

“While it is fine to disagree with the findings of a research work, it is, however, not acceptable to reject a viewpoint for the simple reason that agreeing with the facts challenges individual biases and ego,” he said.

He said if research says early learners do better when taught through indigenous languages, the preference should be to identify and address probable limitations, including inadequacy of skilled instructors fluent in languages or the challenge of limited relevance outside the community.

“My position would be that if children and professionals in China suffer no disadvantage from learning in Mandarin, just like their counterparts in India or South Korea who started their learning in indigenous languages, then the fears against the use of indigenous languages for early-stage education in this part of the world may be exaggerated at best,” Otti said.

He said he is not sufficiently schooled on languages or early childhood learning to make definitive statements, but expressed optimism that insights would guide policy decisions.

He congratulated winners of post-doctoral awards, reminding them that the reward for a good job is more work, and congratulated Prof. Okey Ndibe on completion of “Babs Fafunwa: a Mini-Biography for Youngsters” presented at the event.

Keynote speaker, Prof Francis Egbokhare of the University of Ibadan (UI), said Nigeria’s challenge in implementing indigenous language instruction was not the concept itself but inadequate preparation, including teacher training, learning materials and proper assessment.

He said research had established the benefits of teaching children through indigenous languages in the early years, arguing that the focus should now be on addressing the practical challenges of implementation.

According to him, the fundamental questions should be which language a child would learn best through, what language the teacher would use if it was different from the child’s own language, and how teachers and pupils would be assessed.

He also raised concerns about the availability of textbooks and other learning materials for subjects such as mathematics, science and technology in indigenous languages.

On his part, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Tertiary Education, Adeniran Kasali, also backed the idea of the use of mother tongue for early education, reminding that no nation develops without supporting its local content.

The Guest Speaker, Prof Angelina Kioko of the United States International University, Nairobi, observed that there was a lot of code-switching in African settings even when mother tongue was mandated as the medium of instruction.

She also blamed the lack of capacity of teachers, the non-development of instructional materials in indigenous languages, and poor implementation of policy as the bane of the use of mother tongue in classrooms in Africa.