THE STIPULATIONS FOR ENGLISH IN THE NATIONAL POLICY ON EDUCATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The dominant role played by the English language in Nigeria is undeniably a crucial one. It serves as a general communicative medium in the country because of Nigeria’s indigenous languages. Lawani supports this when he noted that “it is a neutral language in view of the ethno-political situation of the country (202). Apart from being the language used by the three tiers of government to pass information to the masses, it serves as the language of inter-ethnic interaction especially among the literate class. In other words, it is a lingua franca. The prominence given the language in both the constitution and the NPE therefore is a well-deserved one. However, this prominence does not correspond to acceptable proficiency level in the use of the language. It is a commonplace to find university graduates who speak and write very bad English (which some today categorize as Nigerian English). We must note that Nigerian English is not what is taught. In other words, something is wrong somewhere. In this paper, that which is wrong is taken to be inadequate stipulations for English in the NPE.