Already in place in a few Egyptian universities, the teaching of Chinese will now be official in secondary schools as an optional second foreign language. The initiative aims to strengthen the transfer of skills and economic cooperation between China and Egypt.
Egyptian Minister of Education and Technical Education, Tarek Shawki, and Chinese Ambassador to Egypt, Liao Liqiang, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to teach Chinese in schools in Egypt as an optional second foreign language.
According to the Egyptian minister, this measure, which only affects secondary schools, aims to strengthen the transfer of skills so that the country benefits from the Chinese experience in economic development.
For the purposes of project implementation, China has announced that it will support the Egyptian Ministry of Education in several areas, including training of teaching staff, updating educational technologies, the organization of technical education workshops, as well setting up power plants and solar panels in schools.
Confucius Institutes and universities
Prior to the deal, some higher education institutions already offered Chinese courses, such as Confucius Institutes housed at Cairo and Suez Canal universities, as well as three other independent centers.
In total, 16 Egyptian universities have established Chinese language departments or teach Chinese language as part of their program.
China has already undertaken several projects in the education sector in Egypt. Since last year, it has supported vocational training programs. According to the Chinese Embassy to Egypt, in 2019, the Middle Empire awarded more than 300 masters and PhD scholarships to Egyptians.
Source : Ecofin Agency.