UK Reaffirms Commitment To Building Strong Partnerships With Nigerian Universities
By BUKAR BOLORI
The United Kingdom Government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting international education in Nigeria by building strong partnerships with Nigerian universities.
This commitment was made at the Going Global Conference in Abuja themed, “Building sustainable and relevant tertiary education institutions and systems in Africa”.
The three-day conference, which is being hosted by the British Council, holds from the 26th to 28th of November 2024, and provides a platform for tertiary education senior leaders, policymakers and industry experts to debate the future of further and higher education.
The UK Government’s International Education Champion, Sir Steve Smith, in his opening remarks at the conference announced the commencement of three projects between UK and Nigeria universities.
He said: “I am pleased to confirm that starting in January 2025 three new projects with a focus on expanding partnerships between institutions in Nigeria and the UK will be supported through the British Council Transnational education (TNE) exploratory grants scheme.
“Such partnerships not only contribute to transforming local systems and strengthening institutional capabilities, but they also create pathways for cross-sector innovation, bringing academia and industry closer together.”
British High Commissioner, Dr. Richard Montgomery, in his speech at the conference said: “With over 60% of Africa’s population under 25, and projections that population will reach 2.5 billion by 2050, the continent needs to harness a demographic dividend. To do that, more and better-quality higher education is needed.
“Education partnerships in the continent need to evolve. And the focus must be on strengthening Africa’s domestic higher education systems.”
In attendance at the conference were the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, Acting Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Mr. Chris Maiyaki, and other notable education stakeholders.
According to a statement signed on Wednesday by the Senior Communications & Public Diplomacy Officer, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, British High Commission, Atinuke Akande-Alegbe, Following the conference, Sir Steve Smith will lead a delegation of 11 UK universities to engage with their Nigerian counterparts.
This will include a visit to Lagos to explore opportunities for sustainable, mutually beneficial TNE partnerships.
