Abuja – The Federal Government says it is interested in collaborating with Finland in the areas of technical and vocational education.
The government also said the support would also cover applied sciences and teacher education, among others.
This is contained in a statement issued by the Federal Ministry of Education on Friday in Abuja.
It quoted the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, as saying that Finland’s achievements in education were worthy of emulation.
The statement signed by Mr Agidike Onu on behalf of Mrs Priscilla Ihuoma, the Director of Press, said Adamu indicated Nigeria’s interest while receiving a Finnish trade delegation on Thursday.
It said that the Finnish delegation led by Mr Matti Anthonen, the Deputy Minister for External Economic Relations, was in Adamu’s office to explore possible areas of cooperation.
“Nigeria has a long standing cordial relationship with Finland in many areas, but educational cooperation needs to be strengthened.
“Finland has been rated one of the best education systems in the world even as Nigeria and Finland have some similarities in their education system, especially the 9-3-4 system.
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“Possible areas of cooperation include technical and vocational education, applied sciences, teacher education and childhood education,’’ the statement quoted Adamu as saying.
It said that Anthonen had earlier briefed Adamu on the various opportunities for collaboration between the two countries in the education sector.
The statement quoted Anthonen as saying that Finland had perfected such collaboration with some universities in other African countries.
“Finland has relationship with Nigeria in the area of power, health, telecommunication and water, among others.
“Education sector is so important to be neglected,’’ the statement quoted the Finnish Deputy Minister as saying. (NAN)