Yemi Obafemi
The German Ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs. Annett Gunther, on Sunday said the German Government was working on improving visa approvals for intending Nigerian students in the country.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja. The envoy said, Germany is preventing people from coming to the country.
She said currently over 4,000 Nigerians are currently schooling and working in the European country.Gunther said, the German Academic Exchange Service gives out not less than 1,000 scholarships yearly.
The envoy said : “At the moment, we have approximately 4,000 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 further explained that many courses in Germany were taught in English, adding that to survive in the European country, it is imperative to have a certain knowledge of its language.
The envoy said university studies in Germany are either free or not very expensive, compared to other countries with English as official language.She said there was keen interest for students to study in Germany, describing the country’s universities as top class and internationally renowned.
“That is why the German Academic Exchange Service gives out not less than 1,000 scholarships yearly,” Gunther said.
The envoy said no fewer 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 workforce. We are happy with everybody who comes to support us,” she said.
