KEETMANSHOOP – Chinese Ambassador to Namibia Zhang Yiming this week handed over scholarships to the top performing learners of two schools in the //Kharas Region at a prize-giving ceremony in Keetmanshoop.

The ambassador said the handover forms part of his countrywide scholarship programme.
“I have initiated this programme since the end of 2017 and can proudly announce that we have now covered all 14 regions in Namibia,” Zhang said.

The scholarship serves as an investment into the future of Namibian children, remarked the diplomat.
Giving the example of China, now a leading global economy, Zhang said it was through the development of education, science and technology that his country has developed from one of the weakest and poorest countries in the East, to the second largest economy in the world today.  He further expressed his appreciation towards the Namibian government for allocating the biggest part of their national budget towards education. “When I visited Namibia from the Erongo Region till as far east as Impalila Island, I observed that the government attached great importance to education and that learners are very well disciplined and educated,” the ambassador stressed.  “The money (N$20 000.00 each) being given to these schools for their top performing learners is not big, but rather a genuine gesture from one of Namibia’s true friends,” Zhang said, in reference to China. Speaking at the same occasion, /Awebahe //Hoeseb, education regional director for //Kharas, described the gathering as a manifestation of the existing true spirit of solidarity between the two countries.

He then gave the assurance that the learners selected from Keetmanshoop Junior Secondary School, Oosterheim Combined School and Angra Pequena Senior Secondary School, chosen based on a set of criteria, would have inclusive and equitable access to quality education and lifelong learning opportunities.