18 - 24 September 2008 Issue No. 915 Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/915/eg4.htm
The Chinese arrived
Will Egyptian students be able to learn Chinese? For now Reem Leila got the
answer in English but the first school in Egypt that will teach the language
might change that
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click to view caption
The first Chinese school in Egypt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Chinese are not coming; they're already here. They have injected themselves
in our daily everything, including, during this holy month, the very
traditionally Egyptian Ramadan lanterns.
So pervasive have Chinese products and the Chinese people who make them become
in Egypt that a Chinatown could well be built here in a few years. And many
Egyptians are familiar with the door-to-door Chinese salesmen and women who
embark on journeys far from their country to ask in Egypt to "buy Chinese" at
relatively low prices.
And now, Chinese education has come to town after Minister of International
Cooperation Fayza Abul-Naga and Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Fu Ziying
signed a protocol to establish the first Chinese school in Egypt.
The school, located in Sixth of October City on the outskirts of the capital,
is to teach the Chinese language and history. The inking of the protocol and
the inauguration of the "Pilot School for Chinese-Egyptian Friendship" were
attended by the Chinese ambassador to Cairo Wu Sike Hua and Egyptian Minister
of Education Yosri El-Gamal. The school, which is built by a Chinese grant
worth $3.75 million, is the first Chinese school in the Middle East and the
African continent. El-Gamal said the school was set to open a new chapter in
cultural and educational exchanges between Egypt and China, thus promoting
Chinese- Egyptian relations.
Chinese looks like it will soon be available as a secondary language for
schoolchildren. The goal is to enhance linguistic diversity, and accommodate
the requirements for furthering economic and trade ties with Beijing.
The establishment of the school came as part of China's efforts to boost
cooperation with developing countries including Egypt. "When the number of
Egyptians speaking Chinese increases, we hope that would consequently boost our
economic and cultural cooperation with Cairo, and lure more Chinese investors
into pumping their money here," Ambassador Wu Sike Hua said in a press release
issued by the Chinese Embassy in Cairo.
Abul-Naga said she considered the project a major step in the efforts exerted
by the two countries to develop a strategic joint partnership. "Egypt welcomes
more investments from Chinese companies and the Egyptian government is willing
to learn from China in terms of building special economic zones and other good
experiences," said Abul- Naga.
Although the school is highly equipped with the most advanced and sophisticated
laboratories, classrooms and IT labs starting from kindergarten to the end of
the secondary education system, the school will start this year with only the
KG class. English will remain compulsory, and Chinese will join French, German,
Italian and Spanish as a potential second language for students to learn
starting from fifth grade.
Studying in the school is scheduled to start this 2008/09 academic year with
annual fees ranging from between LE350 to LE1,000.
Out of 1,500 aspirants only 87 students were accepted, as in each of the three
classes allocated for KG there will be only 29 students who will be attending a
full school day. According to Iman Mohamed, a teacher at the school, after the
end of the school day, students will stay for an extra two or three hours to
finish their homework.
Chinese is an uncommon and difficult language to learn. Mohamed Abdel-Hamid, an
Egyptian engineer who works in China, said he was interested in putting his
10-year-old son in the school to make it easier for him to join a Chinese
school in China. "I would rather let my boy study Chinese, rather than any
other more common language. The future is now in China, its culture, industry,
language and education," Abdel-Hamid said.
Linguists think the prospects for closer, wide-ranging ties between nations
rests with a narrowing of the language gap. "Historically speaking, language
predominance and economic influence are closely tied," said Khaled Bahaa, a
linguist with a PhD in language acquisition. Since China is the fastest growing
economy in the world, Bahaa expects the language to be popular with students.
He referred to a February report by prominent British language expert David
Graddol, who said the idea of English being a solitary universal language was
outdated. Graddol said that by 2050, Chinese would continue its predominance as
the most common native tongue in the world.
Including Chinese in preparatory and secondary school curricula also seems to
be part of a wider plan aimed at teaching the language in higher education
institutions as well. The Chinese language department at Cairo University which
opened almost four years ago, added to four other university departments
teaching Chinese across the country.
Out of hundreds of job applicants in the new Chinese-Egyptian school, one was
Asmaa Mohsen, a fresh graduate at the Chinese department of Cairo University
who hoped her knowledge of Chinese would help her obtain a lucrative job after
graduation. "Look at the products in our markets; most of them are labelled
'Made in China'," Mohsen said, adding that most Chinese language graduates do
indeed get well-paying jobs. She said the demand for their expertise far
exceeded the 400 or so Chinese language students across the country who
graduate every year.
Egyptians are not alone in wanting to understand Chinese. The Scottish
government recently announced plans to develop crash courses in Mandarin, the
official Chinese language, for students, academics and business people in order
to promote stronger links with Beijing. Chinese is also a second language in
the schools of Singapore, South Korea and Japan. "China has enjoyed
breathtaking economic growth in the past two decades," reports the Chinese
Embassy's website. "As its economic and political clout grows, the Chinese
language has also proved increasingly popular among students of other
countries."
According to the protocol signed between the two countries, China has chosen
President Hosni Mubarak's home village Kafr Al-Musilha in Menoufiya governorate
out of 4,640 Egyptian villages to set up the first rural multi-stage school
which will include a class for children with special needs. Commenting on his
government's decision, China's ambassador to Cairo said this was a way of
honouring and showing appreciation to the Egyptian president.
If things go according to plan, one Chinese school is to be built in every
Egyptian governorate. One such school is about to be finished and will open its
doors this school year in Sharqiya governorate.
<<_home03.jpg>>
