CHALLENGES TO THE USE OF MOTHER TONGUE IN TEACHING PRE- PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN KOGI CENTRAL, KOGI STATE

The study sought to find out the challenges to the use of mother tongue in instruction in pre-primary schools in Kogi Central of Kogi State. Seven research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The design of the study was survey research design and the population comprised of all the 1200 pre-primary school teachers in Kogi Central. The sample was made up of 300 teachers. The instrument for data collection was a researcher- designed questionnaire. For analysis of data, mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while t-test was used to test the hypotheses. Among others, the study found out that teachers, to a large extent, use the English Language as a medium of instruction in pre-primary schools and those parents prefer the use of English Language in teaching their children in Kogi Central. The study recommended, among other things, that regulation on the use of mother tongue should be put in place and effectively enforced. Also, government should do the needful as stipulated in the National Policy on Education as regards the language policy.