LAGOS State governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on Sunday, explained the introduction of Chinese language as a subject in schools while thumbing-up, with statistics, the all-inclusive security policy being implemented in the state.
He spoke at a gathering on the Lagos Television premises in Ikeja, in commemoration of his 2,000 days in office.
He also told his audience, which included former governors, artisans, pressure groups, market women, traditional rulers and politicians, that though Yoruba language is still being taught in schools, it would not be the responsibility of teachers to teach pupils and students their mother tongue.
Citing the globally-expanding Chinese economy as the reason for the introduction of the Chinese language in Lagos schools, the governor noted that the subject was not made compulsory but desirable.
According to him, “the decision does not compel any child who does not want to. Let us start from there, but perhaps I think it is important and this is my view of the matter.
“Our mother tongue, Yoruba language, is not the responsibility that we should pass to the teachers. It is the responsibility of the parents to teach their children the Yoruba language at home.
“We can’t blame the teachers for our children not speaking Yoruba language. We must be honest with ourselves. Other ethnic groups don’t suffer that affliction.
“Now about Chinese language. I think we must continue to think about what our world would be like in the next 20 to 30 years and anybody who is being honest with himself would see clearly that from Britain to the United States, the Chinese are becoming our largest trading partners.”
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