"China is cool. I'm very interested in it, so I chose to study
the Chinese Language," Lukaka, a class monitor in the Confucius
Institute at the University of Nairobi, said.
He also noted in a composition in Chinese that "China has great
traditional culture and it has a growing influence on the
world".
Citing Lukaka's letter, an official with China's National Office
for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (NOCFL) said in Beijing
that China's greater influence and presence has explained the
popularity of the Confucius Institute in the African continent.
The Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi, the first
non-profit school specializing in Chinese language and culture
education in Africa, was officially launched on December 10, 2005.
The number of students increased from 20 to more than 60 in just
two months.
The Confucius Institute - a non-profit public institution whose
overseas branches teach the Chinese language and culture - serves
as a bridge for African countries to learn about China, he
said.
In 2002, the NOCFL under the Education Ministry set up a number
of Chinese-learning institutions overseas to enhance the
understanding of the Chinese culture among Chinese learners outside
of China.
In March 2004, the institutions were brought under one umbrella
and named the Confucius Institute. By June 2006, a total of 75
Confucius institutes had been set up or were under construction in
more than 35 countries and regions.
The total number of institutes overseas is projected to surpass
100 by the end of 2006.
There are three Confucius Institutes established or under
construction in Africa; the one in Nairobi, a Chinese Language and
Culture Center in Stellenbosch University in South Africa and a
Confucius institute in Rwanda. Another five universities and
colleges are currently applying, the NOCFL said.
Statistics from China's Ministry of Education show there are
over 8,000 African students learning Chinese and the number is on
the rise.
Nearly 120 schools in 16 African countries had opened Chinese
courses by July 1, 2005, and to meet the increasing need of African
students, China has sent nearly 200 teachers to Africa.
China has also assisted African countries such as Cameroon,
Egypt and Mauritius in building linguistic laboratories for Chinese
language learning and provided Chinese books as well.
(Xinhua News Agency June 21, 2006)
