Schools to teach Chinese language at A-Level
The Director of National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), Ms Grace Baguma, has said Uganda is ready to teach the Chinese language at Advanced Level (A-Level).
Ms Baguma said NCDC has already developed a training syllabus for teaching Chinese language that has already been approved by the minister of Education and Sports is ready to be rolled out in schools.
She explained that this will enable the first cohort of students, who studied Chinese language at Ordinary Level this year, to be able to continue with the language at A-Level and to prepare students for the Chinese language degree programmes.
“The NCDC tirelessly worked on the syllabus for teaching Chinese language and culture at the Ordinary Level. We are going to have it printed and teachers at that level are going to start teaching Chinese language,” Ms Baguma said.
She added: “We need to encourage our students that as they go to A-Level in February next year, they should be able and learn Chinese language.”
Ms Baguma was speaking at the graduation ceremony for the 4th cohort of Uganda Secondary School Teacher of Chinese language training programme, where 39 teachers graduated with certificates at Luyanzi Institute of Technology, Bweyogerere in Wakiso District yesterday.
Ms Baguma noted that with support from the Chinese Embassy, a total of 139 teachers from both private and public schools have already been trained under the Uganda-China secondary school teacher’s Chinese language training programme.
She noted that of 7,000 secondary schools in the country, only 60 are teaching the language, adding that the target is at least 1,000 schools. She said the government is aiming at training 500 more teachers.
Ms Baguma explained that with the good relationship between Uganda and China, there is a need to learn the Chinese language to communicate with the many Chinese companies so as to solve the unemployment challenge in the country.
Mr Sooma Ayub, the director of Luyanzi Institute for Technology, said teaching Chinese language will provide employment opportunities to teachers skilled in the language.
He added that China’s economy being one of the biggest in the world, it is important to associate with their success and it is essential to teach Ugandans the language.
“In Uganda today, most of the growing industries and manufacturing companies are all associated with Chinese. It is important that we place ourselves in that competitive age to market our people by teaching them Chinese so that they can take up these opportunities to solve the youth unemployment issue,” Mr Ayub said.
The deputy ambassador of Uganda to China, Mr Wilberforce Mugisha, said the Uganda government’s will to promote Chinese language shows the great importance of the two countries’ relations.
Mr Mugisha noted that Chinese language can also be used to facilitate tourism and business between the two countries.
“The ambassador of China to Uganda, together with us, should discuss on how to train the tour guides in Uganda so that the Chinese tourists can come and enjoy the beauty of the Pearl of Africa,” Mr Mugisha said.
The Chinese ambassador, Mr Zhang Lizhong, promised the continuous support to Uganda in training so that more Ugandans are able to speak Chinese.
“This will help them to learn Chinese culture and enhance the friendship between Uganda and China. China’s development cannot be realised without relating with the outside world,” Mr Zhang said.
