China aid to fund Confucius Institute construction
The Governments of Malawi and China on Friday signed an agreement that will facilitate the construction of the Confucius Institute within the University of Malawi under the China Aid support.
The plan to construct the institute follows an agreement between the two governments in 2016 to introduce the institute to teach Chinese languages and culture.
Confucius Institute is a non-profit public educational organisation affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China.
Speaking during the signing ceremony in Lilongwe, Chinese Ambassador Liu Hongyang said since the Confucius Institute of the University of Malawi was established in 2016, it has offered Chinese language and culture courses in public universities, public and private secondary and primary schools in Malawi.
He said: “We think this is just the beginning. In future, the Confucius Institute would play a greater role to strengthen the cooperation between China and Malawi in the field of education and to promote mutual understanding and friendship between people of the two countries”.
The institute will include one teaching and administrative building, one teacher hostel, one multifunctional hall, road, square and other outdoor construction and provision of necessary teaching equipment to improve learning conditions.
On his part, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe commended China, saying the institute will lessen the period Malawians take to undergo studies in China.
He said it takes longer for Malawians to study in China as they spend a year to learn Chinese lfirst before they are inducted into the initial courses under the Chinese Government scholarships.
“The nation grows when taking keen interest to learn from what others are doing. The institute will help youths in their cultural studies in Chinese, among others.
“It is a known fact that China will soon probably be a global leader in economic development, among other spheres,” he said. n
