Uganda: Luyanzi College starts teaching chinese language, culture

The teaching of the Chinese language and culture is spreading out, with more institutions adopting the subject.

Last week, Luyanzi College, formerly Progressive SS, became the first secondary school in the country to teach Chinese language and culture. Chinese is the latest foreign language to be introduced in Ugandan school curriculum.

Started by Makerere’s Confucius institute (CI@MAK) last year, the subject is now available to secondary schools. Last week, CI@MAK signed a memorandum of understanding with Luyanzi College, Bweyogerere to teach the subject and form a base for Uganda’s relations with China in education, economy and trade relations.

«It’s no longer a secret, China offers a great ideal of human resource in terms of technology and trade, there is need we interest ourselves in their culture,» said Professor Oswald Ndoleriire, the director of CI@MAK.

He was speaking during a cultural festival at Luyanzi College. Prof Ndoleriire added that these agreements would facilitate the teaching of the Chinese language (Mandarin) in several secondary schools before students are able to join Makerere.

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Luyanzi College principal Wang Li Hong said the move would make it possible to focus on research and outreach to help Chinese language students.

«This college has created a history of testing and evaluation, and now, to sign a pact with the CI@MAK in the Chinese domain makes us very, very proud,» she said.

«We are very glad to have become a member of the global Confucius Institute.»

Wang added that Luyanzi and CI@MAK will continue to conduct research on the profits of the Chinese language on the international stage, and collaborate with local schools to develop Chinese-English bilingual education programmes.

For his part, Chinese ambassador to Uganda, Zhao Yali, observed that learning Chinese would help students compete in the global market, with China’s rising economic and social influence.

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«It’s important a student or society remains ardent with language; for example, many Chinese investors coming into the region will need Chinese language speakers,» Zhao said.

Earlier, the ambassador excited the gathering by first greeting them in Luganda. So far there are over 200 Chinese firms in Uganda, employing over 30,000 Ugandans.

Edaa Karungi a third-year student at CI@MAK offering bachelors BASS sang the Chinese’s anthem before the festival.

«With Chinese education, the foundation for modernization and development will be boosted further; that’s why there is need of more secondary schools like Luyanzi teaching Chinese,» noted Karungi, a guild president at CI@MAK.

In 2013, Makerere University partnered with Xiangtan University in China to start a Confucius Institute, which offers degree and certificate short courses in the Chinese language and culture.