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<div class="gmail-category-header gmail-single-article-category gmail-flex-item"><a href="http://guardian.ng/category/features/education/">Education</a> </div>
<h1 class="gmail-after-category gmail-single-article-title gmail-flex-item">El-Rufai, Akeredolu canvass indigenous language for overall development</h1>
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By <strong>Oluwaseun Akingboye, Akure</strong>
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<div class="gmail-manual-age gmail-single-article-datetime">
17 May 2018 |
3:15 am </div>
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<p></p><div id="gmail-attachment_432888" class="gmail-wp-caption gmail-alignleft"><img src="https://guardian.ng/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/1024.jpg" alt="" class="gmail-size-full gmail-wp-image-432888 gmail-lazyload" style="display: inline;" width="1280" height="720"><p class="gmail-wp-caption-text">Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai</p></div><br>
Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State has advocated the overhaul of
the country’s educational policy to encourage the use of indigenous
language for all round development. El-Rufai who stated this at the 4th
Distinguished Guest Lecture of the University of Medical Sciences
(UNIMED), Ondo lamented that the current system is obsolete and
incapable of meeting the present demands and realities. <p></p>
<p>The governor in his paper titled, “Transforming Nigerian educational
system: Looking back and looking forward, “ posited that fundamental
reforms are necessary in the sector and called on the Federal Ministry
of Education to step up measures of reviewing the National policy on
education which is already outdated.</p>
<p>“So much has changed in the sector, there is a need to sit down and
get experts to look at what is happening in the educational policies of
countries all over the world. Professionals are dying and new ones are
coming up. Our curriculum and policies on education are all grounded in
the 20th century; there is need for a holistic review to meet with
current realities.<br>
He lamented that the nation has not sustained its investment in the
sector despite its importance to the development of the citizenry in all
ramifications. </p>
<p>El Rufai explained the reasons behind his revolutionary reforms in
the sector, adding that several incentives like tax holiday, free
housing schemes, regular training are given to teachers as the core of
education. </p>
<p>Though the legislation to eradicate early girl-child marriage in the
Kaduna State Assembly suffered setback due to perceived religious
condemnation, the governor said his administration nonetheless passed it
to law in February. He also raised concerns over the use of English
language as the official means of communication in the nation. </p>
<p>“ Should we still be teaching from primary to university in English
Language? What can we learn from other countries that teach in their own
indigenous languages up to university level? They teach from primary to
tertiary institutions in their own languages and they have gone to
space. China is competing with America and will soon overtake it as the
largest economy in the world. </p>
<p>“They are a dominant force in Information and Communication
Technology (ICT), yet they are taught in Chinese. Is there something we
can learn there? Are we slowing down our development by insisting that
the only language of instruction should be English? On his part,
Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu said restructuring must start from the
sector, adding “if we get it right here, other things will follow.”</p></article></div></div></div>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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