Federal Government, through the National Universities Commission, has begun the process of introducing Tiv and Nupe languages as academic degree programmes in Nigerian universities, Daily Source has learnt.
To actualise this, the NUC has assembled a team of experts from various Nigerian universities to develop the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards for the new programmes.
According to minutes of a meeting reviewed by our correspondent, Professors Mary Adebayo and Rebecaa K. D. have been selected as lead consultants for the Tiv and Nupe programmes, respectively.
The meeting documents further show that the Tiv panel includes Professors Muhammad Alkali and Musa Bawa, with Florence Onuoha and Chinenye Augustine representing the Commission.
The Nupe panel consists of Professors John Akosu Adeiyongo and Nguton Sambe, alongside NUC representatives Kate Omotayo Onaiyekan and Hadiza Kalla.
Daily Source reports that this development comes shortly after the Federal Government reversed the 2022 National Language Policy.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, recently announced that English would once again serve as the sole language of instruction across all levels of education, from primary to tertiary institutions.
Dr Alausa explained that years of data indicated that teaching children in their mother tongues had not led to significant improvement in public examination outcomes.
He added that the decision aligns with evidence-based governance aimed at boosting global competitiveness and improving access to knowledge and technology.
The policy change has since generated mixed reactions among education stakeholders.
While some believe the reversal was premature and argue that better teacher training and learning resources could have strengthened the previous policy, others welcomed the shift, emphasising the importance of English proficiency in an increasingly globalised world.
