Chinese language being introduced into Botswana school curriculum

GABORONE -- Kidz Academy International School in Kanye village in Botswana's southern district is making strides in introducing Chinese language in their curriculum.

Eliphas Moyo, a senior teacher at the school, said on Thursday that it is important to connect with China since it has a large population as well as economic influence.

"We therefore decided that the best way to have a connection with such an important country is firstly through language because communication is a crucial aspect in understanding one another," he said.

Moyo acknowledged that learning the language will not be easy given its character symbols.

"We are cultivating a foundation of understanding for them to understand the basics, after which we can move to the second stage of taking it to the classroom," he said.

Kidz Academy is working with the University of Botswana to find a qualified Chinese teacher.

They are currently working with volunteers who are helping them understand the language since it has many variations.

Zubeida Hansa, director of the school, said that introducing Chinese at the school is to show that globalization does not isolate anyone, and the aim is to put the village on the international map.

"As an institution that aspires to turn into an educational hub, we want to strive for variety, hence we decided to pioneer Chinese in the southern region to position ourselves and Kanye for globalization," she said.

Chinese is also taught at the University of Botswana's Confucius Institute.