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The fall in the
standards of both written and spoken English language portends danger
for the employment of fresh graduates because recruitment into large
national and international companies often has a requirement for
fluency in English, experts said yesterday at a conference organised by
the British Council in Abuja.

Ben Fisher,
director of programmes at the British Council, explained the result of
a study commissioned by the agency to find quantitative indicators that
demonstrate benefits of speaking English for countries, evidence for
the value of learning the language for the individual and for Nigeria.

The study observed
that “there is a little investment in English language by the federal
and state governments, as priority is given to basic education, which
receives assistance from international donors,” he said.

The research, which
was conducted by a Euromonitor team that went round the country and
interacted with people of all classes, shows that English is widely
used in Nigeria as the language of government, business, and education,
with numbers growing faster at 5.8 percent per year than the current
population increase.

“English is more
commonly used in the south and east, with Hausa being dominant language
in the north; English is less common in the rural areas throughout the
country,” the study shows.

It also revealed that primary school teachers in public schools speak very poor English.

“Higher standards
exist in the growing private education sector, and privately educated
students are more successful in reaching university level and are
preferred by many national and international companies. However, the
cost of private education is beyond most Nigerian families. English
language is also seen as a requisite for study overseas, which is
growing due to the lack of available university places and the
perceived low quality of courses,” the study says.

Those who do not
speak English language might be disadvantaged in the long run because
recruitment for large national and international companies often has a
requirement for fluent English. Fluent English speakers can command a
salary premium of up to 25 percent, especially in higher skilled jobs.

English is also
important in career progression, as most training undertaken in English
and new business opportunities require working across regional and
national boundaries.

The British Council
officials warned that the language is important to economic development
of Nigeria, as it is useful in securing foreign direct investment on
which Nigeria’s economic development is dependent.

Tackling the challenge

Ruqayattu Rufa’i,
minister of education, explained that there has been a sharp decline in
the communication skills of students in English language.

“There is,
therefore, the need to refocus our attention on the teaching and
learning of English language as medium of expression,” she said.

She identified the
major challenges facing the teaching and learning of English language
in Nigerian schools to include the shortage of teachers of English
language and, in some cases, available ones have low proficiency in the
use of English language, especially at basic level.

Other challenges,
according to her, include absence or irregular training and retraining
programmes; apathy on the part of students to read due to poor reading
culture; faulty delivery methodology; and shortage of books and other
instructional materials.

She, however, said government has the capability to address the challenges.