A meeting of the delegation from the government of the United Kingdom (UK) with Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions’ funding agency, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has resulted in a proposed partnership aimed at promoting transnational education in the country.

While speaking at the conference held at the TETFund headquarters in Abuja, UK government International Education Champion, Professor Sir Steve Smith, who led the delegation, said a series of meetings to discuss guidelines on transnational education will be finalized and launched at the end of November.

Smith said: “The guidelines will give us a firm foundation on which to build mutually beneficial two-way partnerships between the UK and the Nigerian universities. We are much more interested in building capacity by forming partnerships with institutions here in Nigeria”.

Smith noted that they aim to meet with 40 institutions to talk about partnerships, with the key point of the regulation being sorted out at different universities.

“The UK will work more closely with the TETFund and the educational sector in Nigeria with a focus on deep partnership and mutual respect, from which we can benefit from higher education and research systems in both countries” he said.

According to the head of the delegation, there are policy schedules between the UK and Nigerian universities “where there will be a series of ‘speed dating’ sessions and discussions on areas of mutual interest.”

Also speaking at the press conference, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, said the partnership has always been at the centre of its relationships, even as he promised strengthened collaborations between the Nigerian education agencies and the UK government.

Echono said TETFund is ready to explore opportunities for institutional linkages and collaborations between Nigerian and UK universities, with a focus on attracting international faculty and students.

He said: “We want to attract international students to promote joint locations for programmes and establish multidisciplinary research centres across some key institutions in our country.”

He noted that the agency is working closely with the National Universities Commission (NUC) and that the focus is not restricted to the universities but also polytechnics and colleges of education.

“We also want them to focus on skills development as a means of establishing the right curriculum and atmosphere.