Over 4000 Nigerians schooling in Germany – Envoy

The German Ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs Annett Gunther, says there are no less than four thousand Nigerians schooling and working in Germany.

Gunther made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

According to her, the German Academic Exchange Service gives out not less than 1000 scholarships yearly.

She said that the German government was working on improving visa approvals for intending Nigerian students to Germany.

“At the moment, we have approximately 4000 Nigerian students in Germany, coming and going in and out of the country and, also engaging in other things.

”I know we are not yet in a position to issue the visas for the students on time, but we are working on that. We are not interested in preventing people from coming to Germany.

”We want them to come. So there is also something to do on our side to improve our capacities on visa issuance,” she said.

She explained that many courses in Germany were taught in English, however, she added that in order to survive in the country, it was imperative to have a certain knowledge of the German language.

She said that university studies in Germany were either free or not very expensive compared with other countries with English as the official language.

According to the envoy, there is a keen interest for students to come and study in Germany, mainly because German universities are top-class and internationally renowned.

“That is why the German Academic Exchange Service gives out not less than 1000 scholarships yearly,” she said.

The envoy said that there were many programmes to support German culture and language training in Nigeria, with the most famous being the Dutsche Institute.

She explained that the institute was basically about language courses, and also the corresponding language tests.

”It is a cultural exchange, it is also about scientific cooperation, exhibitions, and interaction of artists, music and others.

“Basically, what they do is to interact with Nigerian artists and connect both countries’ artists in the various fields.

“For language training, probably the best known German language is also taught at a number of universities and the German Academic Exchange service,” she said.

According to Gunther, not less than 80,000 Nigerians live and work in Germany and are contributing meaningfully to its economic growth.

“It is also in our interest because our population is shrinking and we are lacking a workforce. We are happy with everybody who comes to support us.

“Most of them have come to work and live in Germany to make a living, to earn money, support their families and also send money home.

”Nigerians have made meaningful contributions in Germany, just like many other foreigners from other countries,” she said. (NAN)