China, South Sudan launch phase ǁ of education cooperation

The second phase of the China-Aided Technical Cooperation Project in Education was officially launched at a ceremony in Juba, capital of South Sudan, on Dec 6, 2021.

During the three-year project, China will help South Sudan compile and print primary and middle school textbooks, train local teachers and educational management personnel, and explore assessment systems to monitor learners' response to relevant publications. It will also send two Chinese teachers to teach the language at local schools, set up a learning center for the Chinese language, and supply teaching equipment.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Hussein Abdelbagi Akol, Sudanese vice-president for service cluster, congratulated the launch of the cooperation project in South Sudan and conveyed thanks to the Chinese government for its assistance to the country's education sector on behalf of South Sudanese President Salva Kiir.

"Education is crucial for a country's development. South Sudan has always put the innovation and development of education at the top of its agenda even when it is faced with a severe shortage of capital. The newly launched project will incorporate China's advanced educational concepts and precious experience with South Sudanese educational development, provide great assistance in designing syllabuses for primary and middle schools in the country, and strengthen capacity building of local teachers and educational managerial staff," said Akol in his address.

He added that as the vice president in charge of education, he will grand full support to the educational cooperation program and ensure its smooth implementation.

Together with other senior officials from South Sudan, Awut Deng Acuil, South Sudanese minister of general education and instruction, spoke highly of the progress made by the two countries in their cooperation.

"China has always stood with South Sudan through thick and thin and offered valuable assistance in difficult times. It is the common aspiration of the South Sudanese government and its people to develop education, and China has set an example for South Sudan with its noticeable achievements in this regard. The Chinese side has given full consideration to South Sudanese views and advice while assisting the country to compile its textbooks and syllabuses, which was lauded by people from all walks of life," said Acuil in her speech.

"The education sector has always been a priority area for China in its exchange and cooperation with South Sudan since the two countries established diplomatic relations ten years ago, and China has supported the construction of many primary and secondary schools in South Sudan, trained several thousand professionals in various sectors and also provided hundreds of scholarships for students to study in China," said Hua Ning, Chinese Ambassador to South Sudan, at the ceremony.

During the first phase of the educational cooperation project in 2018, China shipped more than one million math, science and English textbooks to South Sudan, benefiting nearly 150,000 local teachers and students, according to Hua and over 200 South Sudanese teachers attended capacity building training sessions in China.

He noted that the successful implementation of phase I of the project marked the first comprehensive China-Aided Technical Cooperation in the Education sector for developing countries.

China announced at the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) that it will work with Africa to carry out nine major initiatives and build a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era in the following three years.

According to Hua, China will grant African countries full support in multiple fields such as school construction, talent cultivation, vocational education and employment under the capacity building program, which is one of nine major initiatives proposed by China. The implementation of the second phase of the education cooperation in South Sudan is an important outcome achieved under the framework of China-Africa cooperation.

Miao Hongcai, president of Shanghai Educational Publishing House that carries out the project, said with the help of government agencies in China and South Sudan, the press will pool experience and wisdom from experts and teachers from the two countries to promote high-quality implementation of the project and support South Sudan's educational development and bilateral cooperation on education.

At the inaugural ceremony, a group of South Sudanese students also expressed their eagerness for learning and expectations for the implementation of the educational project.