Jack Acheme, Abuja
Nigeria’s Education Minister Professor Tahir Maman seeks collaboration with the Swedish Government in using technology to improve education in the country, especially early child education.
The minister made the request when the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Annika Hahn Englund paid a courtesy visit to him in his office in Abuja, Nigeria.
The minister said he is of the understanding that there are many Swedish ICT-based companies in Nigeria and would want their expertise utilized in the education sector of the country, especially in the area of early child education for them to acquire modern knowledge and skills at the right time.
“Right from Primary school, we want our children to be exposed to technology and skills so that they can grow with it and also develop critical thinking capabilities for future skills.
“So we will be leveraging your expertise and experience in our plans to integrate technology and skills into our school’s curriculum,” he said.
He commended the Swedish “Education First programme in Nigeria, which supports the use of indigenous languages in the learning process, scholarships to Nigerian students as well as their peaceful hosting as there are no complaints.
He suggested a Memorandum of Understanding that would enhance the proper channeling of cooperation and other activities between both countries.
“I understand there is a draft, we need to work on that and forward it to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for necessary action alongside the Swedish embassy,” he said.
Earlier, the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria Annika Hahn Englund said she was in the ministry to exploit ways in which they can work together, especially the National Universities Commission
She said Sweden has a lot of digital platforms that can be used in Nigeria for education, film, and tourism among others.
“In Nigeria for instance, we have the “Education First digital platform which supports learning at all levels of education,” she said.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education Mrs Didi Waltson- Jack said there is hope that the discussions held will translate to laudable outcomes while looking forward to more engagement and operation.
Dominica Nwabufo
