Kano seeks France’s support on technical education

Kano State government is seeking the support of France in the area of technical education, in order to impart skills on youths from the state and make them employable. Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje who sought the support, while receiving the French ambassador to Nigeria, Denys Gauer in his office, also stated that his administration was focusing attention on the teaching of French language in Kano schools. This, he said, was because the state is a foremost commercial nerve centre in West Africa, which receives businessmen from the sub-Saharan Africa, mainly the Francophone countries, adding that his government has established bilingual colleges in Nigeria, as part of efforts to foster socio-economic development. In a statement, signed by the governor’s Press Secretary, Ameen Yassar, Ganduje said that his administration was working towards improved security in the state, assuring the French envoy that Kano is safe for his embassy to reopen its French cultural centre in the state capital. Responding, Gauer said France wanted to be economically present in northern Nigeria, especially in Kano, in view of its strategic position in Nigeria. The French ambassador stated that a French school would soon be established by his government in the state, while the French cultural centre, Alliance Française, which was closed down, due to security challenges would be soon be reopened. He further assured that France would explore more ways of strengthening relations with the government and people of Kano, through the provision of educational scholarships to students and other economic investments in the state. Ganduje recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the French embassy in Nigeria to strengthen bilateral cooperation, which will focus on initial and continuous training of French teachers in Kano, as well as the promotion of contemporary course books and the support of the teaching of French in public primary and secondary schools, including private schools.