“French is now a compulsory language for all student” say minister

17:51 - 31 January 2016

Prof Anthony Anwukah

The minister also spoke on the need for more French teachers to take up the subject with from primary to tertiary institutions

The Minister of State for Education, Prof Anthony Anwukah has declare French language as a compulsory subject for all Nigerian students.

This announcement was made during a recent courtesy call from French Ambassador to Nigeria, Denys Gaver to the education minister.

“French language is a matter of necessity. We have to because we have Cameroon, Niger, Chad, Benin Republic, Togo Guinea, and Ivory Coast surrounding us and so there is need for us to get more Nigerians to become proficient in French language.

“This is good for the continent; it is good for us as a nation. It is good for our brothers at the borders because it will enable us to communicate with them effectively”

The minister also spoke on the need for more French teachers to take up the subject with from primary to tertiary institutions.

“We plead that you consider it a lot more expedient in helping us train our teachers in French both for the primary school level, secondary level and tertiary level.

“So far, we have demonstrated the enthusiasm to foster the teaching and learning of French in Nigerian schools which are the tertiary, basic and secondary levels and our main concern now is the training of sufficient number of French teachers within our school system.”