- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa gets its first formal Mandarin teaching centers.
- The provincial capital Peshawar has selected three schools that will offer lessons in the Chinese language.
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) will get its first formal Mandarin teaching centers from May, as the provincial capital Peshawar has selected three schools that will offer lessons in the Chinese language.
“This is the first time in the history of Peshawar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that we’re going to introduce Chinese lessons for the students of these schools,” Peshawar District Nazim Muhammad Asim told Arab News on Monday.
“We took the decision in view of the increasing activities related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).”
An advertisement had been placed in the media inviting applications for Mandarin teachers, he said, adding that it is not necessary for applicants to be native speakers. Many Pakistanis are well-versed in the language, he said.
The three schools selected are the Municipal Inter-College for Boys, the Municipal Inter-College for Girls, and the City District Government College for Women, he added.
“Initially, we want to initiate Chinese-language diploma classes for students doing matriculation,” Asim said. “However, we may also allow people from other walks of life to take these lessons.”
Feroz Shah, who works with the Peshawar city district government, said the designated schools will charge a nominal fee for the service, and will hire one teacher each to run the courses.
Anwar Ali Shah, assistant district education officer of Charsadda, said the courses should also be introduced in other KP districts. “CPEC is important for the entire region, not just Peshawar,” he told Arab News.
“These classes should serve students who’ve already finished the first 10 grades. Students of lower classes are immature, and many of them wouldn’t fully comprehend these lessons.”