Pakistani teachers to attend Chinese language training in Beijing

A total of 40 Pakistani teachers left for Beijing for a Chinese language training program on Sunday.

The 15-day training is sponsored by the Chinese Government under the 2017 International Chinese Language Teacher Training Program that aims to impart the Chinese language efficiently.

The Chinese embassy in Islamabad held a see-off ceremony for the teachers which were attended by Zhao Lijian, charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy and Arshad Ali, executive director of Pakistan's Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, reports the Xinhua news agency.

In the group of 40 teachers, there were 26 females and 14 males which were from different institutes across Pakistan.

It is the third batch of Pakistani teachers visiting China for language training since 2015. So far, at least 120 Pakistani teachers have got training under the program.

On the occasion, Charge d'Affaires Zhaowas was quoted by Xinhua as saying, "Language is a bridge among different cultures, a bridge to bring our hearts closer to each other. If you could master the Chinese language, you will get a better understanding of the essence of the Chinese culture and the way of thinking, thus you can better communicate and work with Chinese friends."

Addressing the ceremony, Ali expressed thanks to the Chinese government for starting such initiatives to strengthen bonds of friendship.

"I hope that the visiting Pakistani teachers will bring back not only training but also memories and experiences of Chinese rich culture to pass on to their students and other country fellows. The visit will be a source of inspirations for the continuation of China-Pakistan deep-rooted friendly relations from generation to generation," said Ali.

Masooma Nayyar, a headmistress of a school from Pakistan's southwest province of Balochistan, said that the visit to China is going to be a great booster in her career and life.

"I am very excited and believe that the training will help me understand Chinese culture and language better," said Nayyar.

Zhao believes the Pakistani teachers bearing such responsibilities will teach young students China and China-Pakistan friendship.

Currently, four Confucius Institutes have been working in different areas of Pakistan to impart the Chinese language to students.