WINDHOEK – The eleventh Chinese-Bridge Proficiency competition for secondary students took place yesterday at the University of Namibia (Unam) Gym Hall.
The international competition offers the two winning students an opportunity to travel to China to compete in the finals. Students also receive a fully paid scholarship to further their studies in China and take part in various cultural activities.
The chargé d’ affaires at the Chinese Embassy, Li Nan, said more and more students are studying Chinese, which gives them a unique advantage in integrating the east and west in connecting China and Africa.
’’Being Chinese language learners, you will also get a better chance to travel, study and even work in China,’’ said Li.
Speaking at the same event the director of the Confucius Institute at Unam Dr Romanus Shivoro said since the establishment of the institute at the university the number of students has continued to grow at a very fast pace.
”Specifically, and regarding this competition, we now have more than 250 learners enrolled across five secondary schools in Windhoek,’’ he remarked
Currently China provides more than 40 government scholarships for Namibian students to study in various fields such as medicine and engineering in China.
This competition in particular will help students get special credit, when they go for interviews at the Chinese Embassy.
Ten participants took part in the competition yesterday with Micheala Garises taking the number one spot and Jeremia Matheus coming in second, from Highline and A. Shipena Secondary School respectively. They will now face off with other students from over 50 countries in October. The event is considered the “Chinese Olympics” by the learners of Mandarin from around the world.