School students to be taught with indigenous languages ―FG

THE Federal Government, on Tuesday, disclosed that both the primary and secondary school students will now be teaching mathematics and science subjects with indigenous languages so as to make learning more effective and understand the subjects better.

Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu made this disclosure in his office in Abuja, while inaugurating Joint Ministerial Committee on the teaching of Mathematics and Science in Local Languages between the Ministries of Education and Science and Technology.

He stressed that his ministry was determined to work very closely with the Ministry of Education to move the country in a new direction, pointing out that all over the world, all the nations that have done very well in the area of science and technology have used their indigenous languages in teaching their children at primary and secondary school levels.

Dr Onu said Nigeria could not be an exception, as the action of the Federal Government would make tremendous contribution to the development of the nation.

The minister reiterated that using such languages would also encourage the children and enable them key in into mathematics and science subjects.

According to him, Nigeria is endowed with almost all major minerals. All what is needed is for us to use them effectively and efficiently, to exploit these minerals and other resources for the greatness of our nation. No nation has ever been fully great without science and technology.

“Nigeria has produced the Nobel laurel in literature, we have not yet produced the one in science and we are anxious to produce Nobel laurel in science and the only way we can do it is to make sure that our children alike are interested in pursuing their careers in the areas of science and technology engineering and they can’t do this unless we can make them comfortable with science and technology at the very early stages at the primary and secondary schools.

“Those countries that have succeeded have passed through this stage and we want Nigeria not just to be largest economy in Africa, largest market in Africa but Nigeria should be competing with the very best in the world and Nigeria can only do this, if we as a nation, our young children have this interest in science and technology”, he explained.

The minister added that the government will also write text books in languages that would be developed to their levels and get trained teachers on it to enable them have more interest in those subjects.

Earlier, the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, whose message was delivered by overseeing Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Hussaini Adamu, said if Nigeria was able to teach science and technology by using her mother tongue, it would go a long way in facilitating the breakthrough of the nation in the area of science of technology.