In the morning of March 17, the workshop for teachers and TTI tutors from South Sudan is officially launched in the Academy for International Business Officials (AIBO), MOFCOM.
On March 17, AIBO, located at the rural area of northern Beijing welcomed the first group of teachers and TTI tutors from South Sudan for a month-long systematic training.
This workshop symbolizes the first step of South Sudan in developing the comprehensive system for modern education under the aid of China. And it also means the first comprehensive education related foreign aid project, lead by MOFCOM and undertaken by CNS, officially enters delivery.
William Akuenytiop, Adviser to President on Education of South Sudan, Michael Milli Hussein, South Sudan’s Ambassador to China, Michael Longolio, Under Secretary of South Sudan’s Ministry of Education, He Ding, Vice Dean of AIBO, Gong Shuguang, Chairman of CNS, Chen Xin, Vice GM of CNS, Zhao Yuchi, Director of INRULED of UNESCO and other guests from home and abroad witnessed the opening ceremony and made some remarks.
In his speech, Gong Shuguang points out, this workshop is a mutual trust between South Sudan and China, and is a responsibility for CNS. China, an ancient nation that has been through many ups and downs, has a deep understanding that education is quite significant for a nation just got out of turmoil as South Sudan because the rebuilding of education means the rebuilding of culture, orders and especially national confidence. CNS, as the undertaker of this project, will earnestly provide excellent and good quality teachers and teaching materials to them so as to lay a solid foundation for the education of this young country.
South Sudan, founded on July 9 of 2011, is the youngest country in the world and recognized to be one of the least developed countries by the UN. Due to wars and turmoils of many years, its education, sanitary and medical care, roads, water supply, power grid and other infrastructure construction and social service are in serious shortage. By September of 2016, the illiteracy rate, enrollment rate of children above 6 years old, popularity rate of primary education, literacy rate was 73%、37%、2% and 15% respectively. Among its 119 million people, only 25,000 have registered in universities and colleges, 44,000 in middle schools and 13.8 million in primary schools. There are around 8,000 teachers altogether. Hence, education is the second key field of development, following national defense and a major direction of international aid to South Sudan.
This workshop, a part of the technical cooperate project of education in South Sudan lead by MOFCOM and undertaken by CNS, is China’s first comprehensive aid project on education. Covering 5 sectors, namely the education plan from the top, development of teaching materials, training of teachers, building of ICT center for training, printing of teaching materials, this project aims at improving the educational environment in South Sudan through helping them build a complete and comprehensive system of
modern education. Meanwhile, it serves as a platform for the “going global”of Chinese culture and Chinese value.