"We are Fascinated by the Development in Lagos" - Leena

 

"We are Fascinated by the Development in Lagos"

Leena, Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria

Leena Pylvanainen is the Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria. She is just a year in office as Finland Ambassador to Nigeria this month. Finland has been partnering with the Lagos State Ministry of Education because of the quality of education offered in the country among other factors. The Honourable Commissioner for Education in Lagos State, Mrs Folashde Adefisayo paid a visit to the country recently along with her team. Leena, the Finland Ambassador was at the just-concluded two-day Lagos Education Summit at Eko Hotel, Lagos. Olugbenga Adebiyi who cornered Leena at the event quizzed the ambassador on issues bordering on the Finland Ministry partnership with the state's government, the Finland intervention on education, learning, the world of skills, need to revamp the current curriculum to meet the 21st century needs, the Comprehensive School project in Lagos State and other education issues. Below are excerpts from the interview.

Finland has been doing a lot of education partnership in Nigeria, why is Finland interested in education partnership in Nigeria especially with the Lagos state government? 

We are fascinated by the development in Lagos state because Lagos is one of the biggest, brightest and the most beautiful state and a business hub in Nigeria. We are interested in Lagos in Lagos state because it has ambitious plans, programmes in place to develop the city of the state in a smart city and many of the aids coincides very much the same challenges we face.

We are small; you are big. We are north, you are south. For many of the challenges, it’s the same mobile challenges that everyone is facing on how to make the society and our education future proof. The comments this morning is very commending because we have one of the best education systems in the world. as part of education, pedagogy, technology solution and innovations to offer and we have found in Lagos state a partner that is looking very much for the type of thing that we have to offer and it’s very much like a win-win-situation.

We are helping Lagos state achieve their aims and at this we are creating possibilities for our educational institutions and private companies. But mainly what unites us is aiming for the best possible education outcome for every child and Lagos state is setting an example in Nigeria as a number one priority for the government and it is also investing chunks into education.

We are only at the beginning of our partnership.

Finland has the best education in the world. What makes your education stands out globally? I am aware that the teaching profession is the most competitive because as a teacher you have to do continuous certificate to be on the job as a teacher.

Well, I think you have already one of the impact analyses that are training of our teacher and the qualitative standard we have put in place. The teaching profession is a very respected one in Finland. It is one of the hardest faculties to get into at the university level. Every single teacher in Finland has to have a master’s level to teach in the secondary school. Even at pre- primary, all the teachers have a bachelor’s degree and upward that keeps them at par. They are highly trained professionals and independent structure their own work in the classroom as teachers. They are free to structure their education in the classroom.

Yes, we have a national curriculum, and it is very broad and within those curriculums, they can structure their own teaching method. They can choose the books, etc they use. Professionals can have their own independent way of working. I think that is really one of the key factors. So looking at today’s world, I think what makes us stand out is education technology and the future challenges of the labour market into the curricula. 

Understanding what we discussed here this morning that the skill needed in the future labour force are very different from the one that is needed now. Technology also is another role. We have a lot of companies very good in mobile software, gaming, digital and mobile technology,

learning by playing (which makes learning fun), which makes it more and more interesting for other countries. So, teacher training and training is another aspect.

What specific area is the Finish Embassy collaborating with the Lagos State Ministry of Education to improve the quality delivery of education in Nigeria? 

I think we are only at the beginning of this beautiful relationship. So far as far as I know, focus has been on training the trainers’ curriculum development. A few on the teachers come to Finland and attending courses here and go back to their schools and districts teach their colleagues and I think the effort is a cascading one we also have for instance a mobile software company that has provided a learning module for the Comprehensive school project which is based on employment skill and entrepreneurship. It is contents that students can use on their mobile phones and this is now part of the curriculum of the total Comprehensive school project. Because as you know part of it is also focused on employment skills entrepreneurship and the soft skills needed for the labour market. We have on the one hand, Lagos State Ministry of Education collaborating with the Finnish Educational institutions especially in the city of Tampere with this teacher’s trainings and curriculum workshop. And we separate individual companies that have sold their products to the ministry. But we are engaging more and more into discussions for other forms of collaborations we could have in the future to going beyond education. We are talking to departments in Lagos state and other sectors.

Specifically what brought about the Comprehensive School Program partnership? Who initiated this?

Our cooperation with the Lagos Ministry of Education is based on close contacts over the past few years, both in the form of visits from Lagos state to Finland and contacts between the Ministry and the Embassy here in Nigeria. The cooperation initiated in the development and implementation of the Comprehensive School Project builds on this solid foundation. Besides the Comprehensive School Project, Finnish institutions and companies look forward to contributing also more broadly to the development of the education sector in Lagos state, to the ongoing reforms and to the ambitious Smart Lagos agenda of the Government overall.  

How long have you been an ambassador in Nigeria? I have been here almost a year. I arrived on the first of September. So September this year would make it one year. I have the pleasure of meeting the commissioner for education, who is the first official who I met in September and he went to Finland the next month. We are just trying to bring Finnish and the Lagos state together. I thank my predecessor what has been your experience so far in about a year now in the type of synergy you are building with the Lagos State Ministry of Education and what can you foresee in where our education is going?

Well, I think I am really not an educationist and I don’t attempt to do analysis. Looking at the aims set for education in Lagos State, I can only admire that from my perspective they are going in the right direction and doing what is right.

I am aware that getting a visa to go to Finland is very strict. How are you trying to improve the bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Finland because Finland is becoming attractive in terms of education for many Nigerians going for study, visit, etc. because you have the best education and as a result of plans in place. Finland partnership especially with Lagos state? 

In terms of visa, we simply follow the same visa rules as other Schengen countries. We are most not stricter than any other less strict than any of our European counterparts. It is largely based on legislation and the rule for visa. We are very clear and everyone who fulfils the rule for visa. Besides, there are lots of checks that need to be made that require finance purpose of travel and so on. It is precisely the same procedures as other EU embassies. For students of course, it is not a question of visa, but a question of residence permit. If you have a study place in Finland, you show proof that you received been accepted into that institution. The only problem we have is time because we are working around the clock, like my team handling immigration and this season is a peak season because a lot of people are applying to study in Finland and a very high number of Nigerians have received places to study in Finnish institutions like University of Applied Sciences and we have received processing their residence permit and we have visa backlogs and the semester is starting now and students are waiting to receive their visas. But we are working as hard as we can in order to process their visa applications as fast as we can.

And we have quite a number of Nigerians who are studying in Finland and this is something that is encouraging. Our Embassy covers the whole of West Africa and we are very pleased last year to have official sent-forth of nine Nigerians to have an EU Erasmus Master’s course into Finland. They are 200 in total in about 27 countries in all. Nigeria being one of them. Nigeria is placed number two globally. Nigeria made a huge jump this year. The interest was stronger ever because of successful applicant. Pakistan ranked number 1. The EU is activating a number of education programmes in Nigeria and as member of the EU; we are contributing to developing this sector in Nigeria. What support is Finland giving for Scholarship to study in your country because the average tuition fee is about €11,000? I am not sure what the average tuition is, but I know Finland is considerate compared to other EU countries. That is one thing that makes our system to be attractive.

There are a number of scholarships. It is not from the government, but from each individual university I am aware that in the second year, there are huge number of scholarship that could cover tuition even in the third year. So, I would encourage Nigerian students to consider Finland as study destination.