Embassy scholarships to benefit more grassroot learners
The Chinese Embassy in Namibia plans to extend the coverage of a scholarship programme to 20 schools in the country, according to an official.
Established in November 2017, the Chinese Ambassador Scholarship Programme is aimed at providing funds to poor schools, urban or rural, across the country.
The funds from the scholarships cover basic amenities, like food, stationery and other educational equipment needed to create a conducive environment for learning.
An embassy official said that to date seven schools in rural Namibia as well as schools in the capital, Windhoek, have benefited from the initiative.
“We want to cover 20 schools in all the 14 regions both primary and secondary. The chosen recipient school will get N$20,000 per year and the programme will run for two years. After the two years we will conduct assessments to gauge on the progress of the initiative,” he added.
Earlier in June, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yiming signed agreements to set up the scholarship at Chairman Mao Zedong High School, People’s Primary School and Monte Christo Primary School in Windhoek.
According to the embassy, the Chinese business community in the country also contributed to the education drive, with the latest contribution of educational equipment worth more than N$400,000 which was handed over during the visit by Ambassador Zhang to the schools in northern Namibia in June.
“We hope the programme can assist people to understand the great importance China has attached to Namibia’s education system. In the future there will be more cooperation in different areas especially in education at grassroots as well as the construction of more schools,” the embassy said.
Meanwhile, the embassy said that the initiative over the course of the year will spread to the other regions in country, namely Kavango, southern parts of the country and the coast.
