By YouNews

Copyright younewsng

By, Biola Davies

The Chinese language, Mandarin, has officially been included as one of the foreign languages to be taught in senior secondary schools across Nigeria.

The inclusion of Mandarin came on the heels of the Federal Government’s announcement earlier this month that it had completed a comprehensive revision of the Basic and Senior Secondary Education Curriculum.

The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, in a circular dated September 8, 2025, confirmed that implementation of the new curriculum would begin with the 2025/2026 academic session.

In the curriculum for senior secondary schools, international languages such as French and Arabic were listed as optional subjects.

Meanwhile, just last week, the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria donated 15 sets of Chinese language teaching materials and cultural books to Nigerian secondary schools to further support the rollout of Chinese language education.

This announcement was made on Tuesday by the Secretary of Education for the Federal Capital Territory, Dr. Danlami Hayyo, during the inauguration of the 14th Chinese Corner at Government Secondary School, Tudun Wada, Abuja.

“May I inform you that in the recent review of our curriculum, the Chinese language has been selected as one of the international languages to offer in senior secondary schools.

YOUNEWS is aware that Chinese Mandarin has the largest number of speakers in the world, and today it has become the language of commerce, education, and tourism.

Among other benefits introducing Chinese is to greatly enhanced education and cultural exchange between Nigeria and China.

‘It will open a window for better understanding and appreciation of our various cultures and given our students the opportunity to pursue further education in China,”

“Teachers and Pulpils will benefit through capacity-building programs in China.