Minority Rights and Language Policy in Schools of Plateau State: A Human Rights Review

This research reviews the human rights dimensions of language policy in primary and secondary schools across Plateau State, North Central Nigeria, focusing on the rights of minority ethnic groups to education in their mother tongue and cultural expression. Plateau State hosts over 40 distinct ethnic nationalities, many of which possess indigenous languages underrepresented in the state's school curriculum. International instruments, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities and UNESCO's Education in a Multilingual World policy, provide normative benchmarks for this analysis. The study employs a qualitative design utilizing interviews with minority community leaders, teachers, education officers, and parents across Jos North, Pankshin, and Shendam local government areas. Secondary data from the State Universal Basic Education Board on curriculum content and medium of instruction policies are also analyzed. Findings reveal that the dominance of Hausa and English as primary instructional languages in schools systematically disadvantages children from minority linguistic backgrounds, contributing to higher dropout rates and cultural marginalization. The study argues that this constitutes a violation of minority children's right to education and cultural identity. Recommendations include the piloting of mother-tongue-based multilingual education in minority-populated schools and revised language policies at the state Ministry of Education. Keywords: minority rights, language policy, Plateau State, education, cultural rights.