The True Purpose of Education: How Nigeria’s English Only Policy Risks Stifling Creativity, Intelligence and the Future of National Innovation
By Ishola Ayodele "What is the purpose of education? As educator Maria Bucan wisely expressed, “Our job as teachers is not to put greatness in a child, for the child is already born with his or her greatness, but to elucidate it.” This truth sits permanently on the throne of my heart. Education, to me, is not the mechanical loading of facts or the pursuit of grades; it is the gentle unveiling of the genius that already resides in every child. Yet, in a nation as culturally abundant as Nigeria, blessed with more than five hundred languages and a living heritage woven from countless stories and worldviews, I see the Federal Government’s newly announced English only policy as a troubling stride in the wrong direction. Announced by Minister Dr Tunji Alausa at a British Council conference, the policy seeks to solve failing English scores by forcing students into total immersion from their earliest years. But I am reminded of the Yoruba proverb, “Ọmọ tó bá sọ ilé nù, ó sọ àpò ìyà kò.”...