A renowned Ugandan high school has launched a Chinese Club with an aim of popularizing Chinese Mandarin and culture, where over 700 of its students are currently studying the Chinese language as one of their main courses.
Located 20 kilometers from the capital city of Kampala, Ndejje Senior Secondary School is a prominent public school in the area and currently one of Uganda’s three schools participating in the national Chinese language proficiency examination. The school has over 2,500 students, and three local Ugandan Chinese language teachers.
During the launch ceremony on Friday, which included cultural performances by the students and brought together Counselor Fan Xuecheng from the Chinese Embassy and representatives from the Chinese community, Head-teacher of the school Dr. Charles Kahigiriza said his school has so far 786 students actively learning the Chinese language.
He said that the school decided to establish Chinese courses because China is a popular destination for university education among global students.
“Chinese is one of the official languages of the United Nations. We thought adding Chinese would give our students a competitive advantage to others,” Dr Kahigiriza said.
He said that the Chinese Embassy, Xiangtan University of Hunan Province and the Confucius Institute at Makerere University has contributed immensely to the teaching of Chinese language and culture in his school, calling for more support from the Chinese community.
Speaking during the launch, Counselor Fan hailed the teachers and students for their commitment in teaching and practicing Chinese language.
He said that language is a bridge that connects and brings together different cultures, and that the Chinese government has been providing scholarships and training to Ugandans every year and pledged his commitment to continue with offers.
Juliet Nabutundu, a Chinese teacher at the school, said that the Chinese club will contribute to promoting, understanding and cooperation between China and Uganda. “We are teaching these students Chinese language because we prepare them for the opportunities that exist in the Chinese economy,|” she said.
The President of the Chinese club, student Courtney Asingwire, said they started the club to promote unity among learners of Chinese and those who study other subjects in the school.
She said that learning Chinese has enabled her to be creative in terms of arts and hoping to get more opportunities once she completes her studies. Enditem
