Effect of Mother Tongue Instruction on Early Literacy Acquisition Among Nursery Pupils in Katsina State

This study examines the effect of mother tongue instruction on early literacy acquisition among nursery school pupils in Katsina State, North West Nigeria. Nigeria's language-in-education policy recommends the use of the mother tongue as the medium of instruction in the first three years of primary education, yet implementation varies widely across states and school types. The study employs a quasi-experimental design, selecting 180 nursery two pupils from public and private schools in Katsina metropolis and Daura Local Government Area. Treatment schools used Hausa-medium instruction, while comparison schools used English-medium instruction for literacy lessons over ten weeks. Pre-test and post-test instruments assessed phonological awareness, letter recognition, and oral comprehension. Cummins' Interdependence Hypothesis and the Sociocultural Theory of Vygotsky provide the conceptual framework. Findings are expected to demonstrate that children taught in their mother tongue achieve significantly higher literacy scores than those instructed in English. Teacher interviews and classroom observations supplement quantitative findings. The study also examines parental attitudes toward mother tongue instruction and their influence on programme outcomes. Recommendations target the Katsina State Ministry of Education, the National Policy on Education review committee, and early childhood teacher education programmes on strengthening mother tongue-based multilingual education. The study contributes to the national discourse on language policy implementation and provides localised evidence for improving early literacy in North West Nigeria. Keywords: mother tongue instruction, early literacy, nursery pupils, Katsina State, language policy