GUSONS MEDIA
How to address the lethargic growth of the study of Nigerian indigenous languages was the focus of the address of the Executive Director (ED) of the Aba, Abia State based but Federal government owned National Institute For Nigerian Languages ( NINLAN ) Professor Ogbonna Onuoha during the first matriculation ceremony of the pioneer degree students of the Institute that is in affiliation with Nnamdi Azikiwe University ( NAU ) , Awka, Anambra state.
The Executive Director (ED), Professor Ogbonna Onuoha therefore urged all state governors and stakeholders to seize the opportunities offered by NINLAN to patriotically develop the Nigerian (Indigenous) languages spoken in their states, by granting scholarship to their citizens, to study their mother tongues, through NINLAN’s refresher, improvement, acculturation, conversion, development and research trainings.
” The Federal government having established NINLAN, state governors in whose states and regions the Nigerian Languages Institutions are located, should ‘water’ them, to benefit from them, for the educational, social, political, economic and cultural development of their states, peoples and the nation at large”.
The ED in his address, said that the day marked a major milestone in the journey of the great Institute to take it’s rightful place in the community of degree-awarding institutions in Nigeria, adding that the matriculation featured new students on the Ibibio and Annang Acculturation programmes in Nigerian Languages.
Disclosing that NINLAN is in the final stages of the memoranda of understanding with the Nupe, Obolo, TIV Idoma and Igede languages, towards their development, he said that the matriculants included their Certificate, NCE, Diploma and Postgraduate Diplomas students.
Professor Onuoha, who, before his appointment as the NINLAN ED, was the Deputy Vice Chancellor ( Administration ) at Abia State University, Uturu, being less than one year in Office, said ” we are glad to report that many graduates of non-Nigerian Language courses are fast converting to Nigerian Languages, to make their life careers, working in Nigerian Languages”.
Acting Vice Chancellor ( AVC ) of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, to which the NINLAN is affiliated, Professor Carol Arinze- Umobi, represented by Professor George Onwudiwe, said that by the affiliation, the degree programe of NAU admissions proceedings, academic staff numbers and qualifications, examinations and academic regulatuons in NINLAN are to be supervised by NAU.
She said ” the undergraduate students of this programme are in a sense, distant students of NAU, who will receive degree Certificates of NAU on successful completion of their programme hence, they are bound by the relevant NAU regulations that include among others, 75% attendance of lectures and practicals before writing examinations”
The NINLAN ED, (Professor Onuoha) who said also that it ( NINLAN ) has continued to witness transformations in both academic and infrastructure areas, remarked that due to ” the grave security concerns posed by their expansive 209.5-hectare unfenced campus, they have commenced the installation of solar-powered streetlights at strategic locations to enhance visibility and safety for staff and students, especially at night.
” In line with our mandate to serve all parts of the country equitably, the Institute has restructured its faculty formations to reflect the six geopolitical zones of Nigerian Languages under our care.
” We are equally championing technological innovations by developing specialised ,Computer Keyboards with Indigenous Language Characters, in partnership with a Chinese technical firm, to support reading, writing, and digital content creation in some Nigerian languages
” Beyond this, the Institute is also developing pioneering Text-to-Speech and Speech-to-Text applications powered by natural language processing algorithms, which will facilitate modern teaching, learning and research in Nigerian Languages, the NINLAN Nigerian Languages Online (NNLO) Programme, which, when launched, will deliver certificates and diplomas programmes, virtually to Nigerians at home and abroad, including foreigners seeking to acquire proficiency in Nigerian languages, for business, career, diplomatic, or cultural purposes”.
According to the ED, to boost language immersion and acquisition, they have established Acculturation and Language Acquisition Centres (ALACs) in some of the six geopolitical zones of the country, to serve as hubs where learners can internalize our Nigerian languages in natural environments, guided by well-developed operational procedures.
” The NINLAN Acculturation programme has been redesigned to include our demonstration schools with the strategic decision that, beginning from the next academic year, students enrolled in these schools shall study and be examined in Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba proficiency, for national cohesion”.
Reporting on its Website, he said it is currently undergoing comprehensive restructuring in compliance with the directive of the Honourable Minister of Education and TETFund directives, which he said includes capacity-building for their ICT personnel to independently manage the platform.
” In keeping with our core mandate, we have equally undertaken the restructuring of all postgraduate Diplomas, insisting that a minimum of 50% of coursework, particularly in the PGDE, consists of Nigerian language- oriented content.
” We continue to build human capital through robust staff development initiatives, as many of our academic staff are currently pursuing postgraduate studies in reputable Nigerian universities, while our non-teaching counterparts are benefiting from targeted training and mentorship programmes designed to enhance their effectiveness and productivity.
While congratulating the matriculated students and extending warm appreciation to their parents, guardians and well-wishers who have entrusted their care to the Institution, he assured that NINLAN will continue to provide a supportive academic environment, equipped with the necessary human and material resources, to help them realize their dreams.
Executive Secretary, National Commission for Colleges of Education ( NCCE), Professor Paulinus Chijioke Okwelle, represented by the Provost , Federal College of Education, Ofeme, Abia state, said that the matriculation marked the formal integration of NINLAN into the mainstream of Teacher Education in Nigeria.
He added ” by training teachers of Nigerian Languages, we are not only producing classroom educators but also cultural ambassadors, bridge – builders and agents of national cohesion”.
He therefore charged the students to ” as pathfinders , carry the honour, responsibility and burden of being the first set students of this Institution history has chosen, to write the opening Chapter of NINLAN NCE Story.
