The Chinese Ambassador and a delegation from the Peoples' Republic of China visited the college .........

Daily Monitor | Wednesday, June 15, 2011 

Kampala school adds Mandarin to syllabus

Martin Ssebuyira

In a move to underscore the growing global influence of China, a school in Uganda has added to its syllabus official Mandarin, the language spoken in China, pending a nod from the Ministry of Education. Mandarin, already the world’s most spoken language, is now being seen across the globe as a must-know language for both career growth and business opportunities. As more Chinese make economic breakthroughs and are keen to splash their money on luxury, the number of tourists from the country once extremely conservative are increasing.

Mr. Jimmy Dheyongera, head teacher at Luyanzi College, Bweyogerere (formerly Bweyogerere Progressive) says the school is looking to break new ground in what will inevitably be a subject in high demand in the country sooner rather than later. He says the growing influence of China on the African continent can no longer be ignored.

“We thought it wise to prepare our students for the challenges ahead of them because Chinese is proving a potential for easy trade with Africa,” he said.  Though the Ministry of Education hasn’t confirmed it, they are encouraging schools to take on the initiative. Assistant Commissioner Private Schools in charge of policy and regulation Mr. Ismail Mulindwa says that government is strongly backing schools that are coming up to teach Chinese language. “We would love to have it taught in all schools around the country but that would mean either bringing experts from China to do it or take people for training that could be a little costly.” Mr. Mulindwa says.