Lagos: Chinese to be introduced in public schools by 2013/2014 session

The
Lagos
State
Government, on Monday, announced that
it would introduce Chinese language, in
public schools’ curriculum as from next
session.
The state Commissioner for Education, Olayinka
Oladunjoye, in a statement signed by the
ministry’s Public Relations Officer, Lanre
Bajulaiye, said that learning the language in the
state’s public schools would be an opportunity
for the pupils and students to speak the
language and be able to adapt to the Chinese
culture.
The commissioner said this after a delegation
from the Chinese Confucius Institute of the
University of Lagos visited her.
Director of the Institute, Caleb Orimoogunje,
said that the institution was ready to assist the
state with necessary logistics to make the
teaching and learning of the language easier;
adding that Lirong Jiang, a co-director of the
institute, would help in the take-off of the
programme.
Jiang said the institute, as a representative of
the Chinese culture in Nigeria, was set up to
satisfy people’s need about the country’s
culture.
She noted that the language became necessary
because China had become the new destination
for economic growth and technological
development.
“The Institute is prepared to provide Chinese
instructors to teach the language and culture in
the state’s public schools as soon as the
Memorandum of Understanding is signed
between the state and the institute,” she said.
“The knowledge of Chinese language will help
students to further their studies in China and
carry out research in various fields of human
endeavour as China has become a success story
in the world economy.”::