Kenyan students welcome Chinese language in school curriculum

Kenyan students have received with excitement recent news that Chinese language will be introduced in the school curriculum.

Most of the students interviewed by Xinhua on Monday in the capital Nairobi expressed their interest in what they termed as "an added advantage" of picking up another foreign language besides English.

"I cannot wait to enroll for the Chinese language course. It will be an adventure to learn a language that uses symbols to communicate instead of customary letters," said Francis Agida, a secondary student.

"If the project is rolled out before I complete my secondary education, I will be one of the pioneers (in learning it)," Agida said, calling on his fellow students to enroll en mass for the Chinese language course when the time comes.

Celestine Kibuka, a student from western Kenya currently holidaying in Nairobi, said he would like to see the Chinese curriculum taught widely in the country and not confined to Nairobi alone.

"Most things tend to start and end in Nairobi. I hope the program will be rolled out in the whole country simultaneously so that students can be at par in learning the Chinese language," Kibuka said.

Last week, Kenya's curriculum agency announced that it will introduce Chinese language into the school curriculum in hope of increasing Chinese speakers to cater for growing ties between the two nations.

China-Kenya bilateral trade rose 53 percent to a record high of 5 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, with China being Kenya's largest trading partner and source of direct investment.

More Chinese are coming to invest or travel in the East African country.

Julius Jwan, development chief of Kenya Curriculum Institute, said the Chinese language, which will be optional to students like other foreign languages taught in Kenyan schools, will be rolled out in 2017.

Naomi Pedo, a student at a middle-level college wondered whether the language will also be available in universities and colleges.

"So far we have heard that the language will be introduced in schools only. This leaves out colleges as the only other places where Chinese language is taught are the Confucius Institutes at some Kenyan universities," she said.

Most Kenyan parents interviewed also hailed the idea of offering the Chinese language as an option to students.

"Learning Chinese will add value to the students' depth of knowledge and will also enable them to, for example, secure jobs with Chinese firms with the advantage of mastering the language," said Sarah Maloba, a mother of three school-going children.

The Confucius Institutes that teach Chinese language and culture in Kenya are presently housed at Nairobi, Kenyatta, Egerton and Moi universities.

Lucy Ogol, a researcher at the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi, told Xinhua the institute will play a major role in introducing Chinese language in the school curriculum. Endi