Using indigenous languages will aid teaching-learning process, says Ogun Education Commissioner

The Ogun State Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Professor Abayomi Arigbagbu, has said that the use of indigenous languages in Nigerian schools will aid in the effective teaching and learning process.

Arigbagbu stated this in his remarks at the annual symposium organised by the Gbagede Ewa Ede Foundation with the theme “Iwa Omoluabi is not a scam” that the Federal government must develop adequate orthography of subjects in local languages spoken in Nigeria for the smooth teaching of students in their mother tongue.

He commended the FG for the initiative on the compulsory use of the mother tongue as the language of instruction and teaching of primary school pupils in Nigeria.

“It is good for them (students) to start with their mother tongue and be well grounded in it before switching from it to English. Thinking should be done in your mother tongue, it is a good foundation for learning.

“I totally support it (teaching with mother tongue), the only thing is that we have to develop the orthography, we have to develop the various vocabularies for terminologies that we don’t have in our mother tongue.

“It is possible to teach and learn in our mother tongue as other countries are doing, all we just need is the will,” he said.

The Convener of the Foundation, Princess Adejoke Somoye, said the symposium was put together to inculcate good moral values in youths.

According to her, the foundation had been at the forefront of projecting the culture and tradition of Yorubaland for over 11 years ago.

“Values that are predominantly held and pursued today include dishonesty, disrespect, intolerance and lack of cooperation, profit-oriented relationships, profane of life and abuse of human dignity, loss of pride in hard work and an increased interest in the pursuit of injustice and other crimes all in a bid to acquire wealth,” Somoye added.

The symposium witnessed the presentation of cash awards to 24 secondary school students from some selected schools.

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Using indigenous languages will aid teaching-learning process, says Ogun Science and Tech Commissioner