The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Maman, on Tuesday sought collaboration with the Swedish Government on using technology to improve education in the country, especially in early child education.
The minister made the request when the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Annika Hahn-Englund, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.
The minister said that there were many Swedish ICT-based companies in Nigeria and would want their expertise utilised in the education sector.
“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 schools curriculum,” he said.
He commented on the Swedish Education First programme in Nigeria, which supported the use of indigenous languages in the learning process, scholarships to Nigerian students as well as their peaceful hosting as there were no complaints.
He suggested for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that would enhance the proper channeling of cooperations and other activities between both countries.
“I understand there is a draft, we need to work on that and forward it to his Excellency for necessary action.
Earlier, the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Annika Hahn-Englund said she was in the ministry to explore ways in which they could work together, especially with the National Universities Commission (NUC).
She said Sweden had a lot of digital platforms that could be used for cooperation, and tourism among others in the country.
“In Nigeria for instance, we have the Education First digital platform which supports learning at all levels of education,” she said.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Didi Walton-Jack expressed hope that the discussions would translate to laudable outcomes while looking forward to more engagement and operation. (NAN)
