The Education ministry’s undersecretary, Kuyok Abol Kuyok said language helps break barriers.
“Chinese language is an international language/UN language, so any one of you can work within the UN system as an interpreter and also with many Chinese companies that are all over Africa. So it is an important asset that you can have and use to advance yourself as an individual,” he said.
According to Kuyok, Phase II of the China-supported Technical Cooperation Project in Education will soon come to an end, but work is underway with their Chinese counterparts to develop its Phase III.
“In this Phase III, we are very ambitious because we feel that the success of this particular project (Phase II) should be the foundation for us to move on. So we want to, except for all the other major components of the technical cooperation, have three classrooms for the language learning and cultural exchange, one for the beginners, middle learners and one for advanced learners,” he explained.
Kuyok said there is an opportunity for Chinese language learners to visit China and interact with Chinese.
“I think it will be a very good opportunity for them to advance their language and understanding, some of these learners should have the opportunity to go to China and interact with the Chinese,” he stressed.
Amou Santo Domic, 20, enrolled at a Chinese language center located at Juba Day Secondary School. The program is under China-Aided Phase II Technical Cooperation Project of Education in South Sudan.
She intends to study Petroleum Engineering at Nanjing University of Science and Technology in China.
“The reason why I am here, I will be going to China in July for my studies. I heard from South Sudanese who went before me that the Chinese people value their language more than anything,” she said.
She said that proficiency in Chinese language provides limitless opportunities because of the huge presence of Chinese-owned companies in South Sudan and across the African continent.
The Chinese delegation led by the Director General of the Agency for International Economic Cooperation in the Ministry of Commerce of China, Kong Dejun arrived on Friday in Juba to inspect the progress made in several China-Aided projects including the Technical Cooperation Project in Education.
Kong congratulated the learners for wonderful performances in language learning and cultural sharing.
He commended the Shanghai Educational Publishing House and the support from Ministry of General Education and Instruction for implementing the China-Aided Technical Cooperation Project of Education.
Mayiik Deng Mayiik, one of the pioneer students, said learning Chinese gave him several opportunities.
“I can speak Mandarin better than some indigenous Chinese people because some Chinese people know how to speak the local language (Arabic) in the market, but don’t speak fluent Chinese language,” he said.
He encouraged more people to learn Chinese, saying Chinese has technologically advanced in the world.
Chol Makur Malek,47, a soldier within the engineering department of the South Sudan Peoples Defense Forces (SSPDF) said Mayiik inspired him to enroll for the Chinese language course in February this year.
“In the engineering department I am working in, you can be sent anywhere like China and elsewhere in the world, so you must have knowledge about the country you are going to,” explained Makur.
“I have been here for two weeks now but I have learnt a lot,” he added.
George Kenyi, the head teacher at Juba Day Secondary School said the Chinese language center is a blessing having realized the essence of the cultural exchange programme agreed upon both countries.
“We South Sudanese used to see the Chinese symbols here just like drawings, but it is good that within these three years many South Sudanese have been attending this course,” said Kenyi.
He added, “One day if all these students are given chance to visit China, the Chinese people will be surprised to see that they have their brothers in South Sudan. So I want to assure you that language is a bridge, in fact the whole world when they become one it is through a language because it will build bridges so that we can understand ourselves”.
Phase II of the China-Aided Technical Cooperation Project in Education involves developing, review, printing and provision of textbooks for some primary and secondary schools in South Sudan, organizing capacity-building programmes for teachers and the educational administrators, developing and providing an evaluation system for the usage of the textbooks and dispatching Chinese teaching personnel to Juba to facilitate Chinese language and cultural exchange programmes.
