Mother tongue teaching vital for effective learning

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It has been discovered that using mother tongue for teaching and learning is the key and simplest way to achieve effective foundation skills and learning prosperity for early children/pupils in formal schools.

This revelation emerged from a survey conducted under the project known as ‘Mu Karanta’ Literacy for Prosperity, which was carried out in 12 local governments covering 198 schools in Jigawa State by Mu Karanta Literacy Resource Limited.

Presenting the report of the survey, the programme director, Dr Mary Anderson, supported by another director, Mrs Hindy Muhammad, stated that the aim of the survey was to find solutions to the gap in foundational skills and literacy in society.

Dr Anderson mentioned that the survey was conducted by Mu Karanta Literacy Resource Limited in collaboration with the Jigawa State Universal Basic Education Board and sponsored by BONO Energy.

She added that the Makaranta Literacy for Prosperity project used the Hausa language and instructional materials written in Hausa for primary grades 1-3 between 2023-2024.

According to the survey, almost 90-95 per cent comprehended what they were taught and also demonstrated enthusiasm and interest in their lessons.

She explained that it was observed that most of the targeted children can differentiate and pronounce letters correctly, noting that with effective foundation skills, they can easily transfer to other learning languages.

“Mother tongue is a window for learning another language. Therefore, the report suggests that Nigerian educationists and policymakers encourage using native languages in early childhood teaching/learning to achieve effective foundation skills and learning prosperity.

In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of the Jigawa State Universal Basic Education Board, Professor Haruna Musa, stated that the outcome of the research provides a practical answer to the poor learning outcomes in foundation skills recorded in the state over the years.

“Our governor has been concerned about the poor learning outcomes in our schools, particularly at the basic level. We have no choice but to adopt the suggestions formulated in this report to tackle the problem.

“In doing so, we will continue to engage with ‘Mu Karanta Literacy Resource Limited’ for technical guidance and effective implementation,” the ES declared.

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