ACCEPT MORE AFRICAN STUDENTS FOR INTERNSHIPS, M'SIAN FIRMS TOLD

By Massita Ahmad

PUTRAJAYA, June 18 (Bernama) –- A Nigerian diplomat Saturday called for more
Malaysian companies to open their doors for African students to pursue
internship programmes in Malaysia.

Gladys Modupeola Quist Adebiyi, Minister at the Nigerian High Commission
in Kuala Lumpur, said the move would help them gain valuable industrial training
and in the process boost their bargaining position in the marketplace.

"Our kids are getting good education from your universities, thus you should
not be afraid to accept them for internship in your employment system," she
said. Currently, there are about 8,000 African students in Malaysia.

Adebiyi said more acceptance of African undergraduates for attachment
programmes would bolster Africa's confidence in Malaysia's tertiary learning
institutions.

Such a move would further enhance Malaysia’s aim to become an education hub
in the region, she told Bernama today when asked to respond to concerns
expressed by a participant at the Malaysia-Africa Business Forum that African
students studying in Malaysia found it hard to undergo internship training.

The one-day forum is being held prior to the Langkawi International Dialogue
2011 which begins Sunday.

Adebiyi also welcomed more Malaysian universities to open campuses in
Africa.

"In Nigeria alone, we have the potential for about 15 million students. We
can’t take in all of them," she said.

Limkokwing University of Creative Technology is the only university, which
has a prominent role in the African education sector, with campuses in Botswana,
Lesotho and Swaziland.

-- BERNAMA