Rivers ‘Pilot’ Revives Mother Tongue Learning in Classrooms

Salami Adeyinka

A pilot programme by the Rivers State Universal Basic Education Board is changing classroom culture in selected public schools by allowing pupils to learn and participate in their native languages without punishment.

The initiative, which is being tested in five language communities across the state, is encouraging the use of Ikwere, Kalabari, Ekpeye, Kana and Echie in early-grade classrooms as part of efforts to improve learning outcomes and boost pupils’ confidence.

At a community school in Rumuokoro, pupils were seen freely responding to teachers in both English and their mother tongue during lessons, a practice that contrasts sharply with years of “no vernacular” rules in many public schools.

The pilot, which is currently running in selected schools in Obio/Akpor, Asari-Toru, Ahoada East, Khana and Etche, is supported by language specialists, teacher-training partners and community representatives.

Officials said teachers in participating schools had received local-language primers and training aimed at ending older correction methods that often punished pupils for speaking their first language in school.

The chairperson of the programme’s technical team, Mrs Moriyike Victor-Obine, said the project was designed to make classrooms more welcoming for children who were already familiar with local languages at home.

“The first question is whether the classroom treats the child’s home language as a source of confidence or as something to be punished,” she said. “If we get that wrong, the child may stop speaking before learning has even begun.”

A teacher at one of the Ikwere pilot schools admitted that adjusting to the new method had been difficult after years of discouraging local-language use in class.

“When I started teaching, I corrected children for speaking Ikwere because that was what happened to me too,” the teacher said. “Nobody had to remind me. It was already inside me. Now I catch myself when I am about to do it.”

Some parents who initially opposed the programme have also begun to change their views. A father in Etche said he had feared the approach would weaken his daughter’s English-speaking ability but later observed improvement in her confidence and classroom participation.

“Now I see she is not behind,” he said. “She is speaking more, not less. I do not understand all the method, but I can see the difference.”

Officials of the Board, however, cautioned against drawing early conclusions from the pilot, noting that the long-term impact on reading outcomes would require further assessment before any statewide expansion is considered.