France To Train 150 Nigerian French Teachers In Oyo, Lagos, and Other States

Education

France To Train 150 Nigerian French Teachers In Oyo, Lagos, and Other States

Reported by Ayooluwa Afolabi

The French Government, via its embassy in Nigeria, intends to train 150 French teachers across Oyo, Lagos, Enugu, Plateau States, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This initiative aims to improve the job prospects of Nigerians who are proficient in the language.

To this end, it has earmarked €600,000 for the initiative, and part of the funds has been dedicated to the building of a university centre at the Badagry Village in Lagos and for the training of journalists.

According to THISDAYLIVE, the project coordinator, Atua lumi Ko Nainja, Feyitimi Babajide stated this at the French Embassy in Abuja during an event to celebrate World Teachers Day.

According to him, the teachers would be trained with the latest teaching methods.

He said, "This particular project started in May 2023. The Embassy of France, for this project, gave us 600,000 euros.

“The project has three components: the reinforcement of the skills of the secondary school teachers; We are called to build the university centre at the Badagry Village in Lagos; we also have the training for the journalists.

“I have been working with the embassy to help train French teachers in the latest teaching methods, especially teachers at primary and secondary school levels within the framework of the project.

“We have been able to train 150 French teachers across five pilot states, namely Enugu, Oyo, Lagos, Plateau, and the FCT.

“Also, we have helped them to build up their speaking skills. We enrolled them in classes and, with the help of the Embassy of France, put them for international examinations.

“From the training they have gotten, they have been able to perform very well in the examination, and they have been certified.

“Also, within the framework of the project, we have been to do training for some francophone journalists to help improve their way of reporting on the radio.

“We were able to work with international partners. We are working with 10 pilot schools per state across these five states.”

Mr Babajide explained that with the training received, the teachers have been certified, adding that the project has also trained some francophone journalists to help improve their reportage of events, particularly on radio.

A Professor of French and Applied Linguistics at the University of Abuja, Mufutau Tijani, said he was worried that most students only learn French for academic purposes, ignorantly missing out on the huge benefits that come with the language.

Professor Mufutau maintained that most French students do not know where to practice the language, hence the collaboration with the French embassy on the French-Up Your Career, a programme aimed at looking at and promoting the employability of French students in Nigeria.

He underscored the need for the country to provide a conducive environment for students to learn the French language to boost their employability chances.

On her part, the Director of Center for Learning Resources at Covenant University, Ada Peter, proposed integrating French with other academic disciplines.

Mrs. Peter believed that combining French with international relations or digital humanities could make the language more attractive to students, ensuring that the curriculum equips students with employable skills.