Will Egyptian students be able to learn Chinese? For now Reem Leila got the answer in English but the first school in Egypt that will teach the language might change that The Chinese are not coming; they're already here. They have injected themselves in our daily everything, including, during this holy month, the very traditionally Egyptian Ramadan lanterns. So pervasive have Chinese products and the Chinese people who make them become in Egypt that a Chinatown could well be built here in a few years. And many Egyptians are familiar with the door-to-door Chinese salesmen and women who embark on journeys far from their country to ask in Egypt to "buy Chinese" at relatively low prices. And now, Chinese education has come to town after Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Abul-Naga and Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Fu Ziying signed a protocol to establish the first Chinese school in Egypt. The school, located in Sixth of October City on the outskirts of the capital, is to teach the Chinese language and history. The inking of the protocol and the inauguration of the "Pilot School for Chinese-Egyptian Friendship" were attended by the Chinese ambassador to Cairo Wu Sike Hua and Egyptian Minister of Education Yosri El-Gamal. The school, which is built by a Chinese grant worth $3.75 million, is the first Chinese school in the Middle East and the African continent. El-Gamal said the school was set to open a new chapter in cultural and educational exchanges between Egypt and China, thus promoting Chinese- Egyptian relations. Chinese looks like it will soon be available as a secondary language for schoolchildren. The goal is to enhance linguistic diversity, and accommodate the requirements for furthering economic and trade ties with Beijing. The establishment of the school came as part of China's efforts to boost cooperation with developing countries including Egypt. "When the number of Egyptians speaking Chinese increases, we hope that would consequently boost our economic and cultural cooperation with Cairo, and lure more Chinese investors into pumping their money here," Ambassador Wu Sike Hua said in a press release issued by the Chinese Embassy in Cairo. Abul-Naga said she considered the project a major step in the efforts exerted by the two countries to develop a strategic joint partnership. "Egypt welcomes more investments from Chinese companies and the Egyptian government is willing to learn from China in terms of building special economic zones and other good experiences," said Abul- Naga. Although the school is highly equipped with the most advanced and sophisticated laboratories, classrooms and IT labs starting from kindergarten to the end of the secondary education system, the school will start this year with only the KG class. English will remain compulsory, and Chinese will join French, German, Italian and Spanish as a potential second language for students to learn starting from fifth grade. Studying in the school is scheduled to start this 2008/09 academic year with annual fees ranging from between LE350 to LE1,000. Out of 1,500 aspirants only 87 students were accepted, as in each of the three classes allocated for KG there will be only 29 students who will be attending a full school day. According to Iman Mohamed, a teacher at the school, after the end of the school day, students will stay for an extra two or three hours to finish their homework. Chinese is an uncommon and difficult language to learn. Mohamed Abdel-Hamid, an Egyptian engineer who works in China, said he was interested in putting his 10-year-old son in the school to make it easier for him to join a Chinese school in China. "I would rather let my boy study Chinese, rather than any other more common language. The future is now in China, its culture, industry, language and education," Abdel-Hamid said. Linguists think the prospects for closer, wide-ranging ties between nations rests with a narrowing of the language gap. "Historically speaking, language predominance and economic influence are closely tied," said Khaled Bahaa, a linguist with a PhD in language acquisition. Since China is the fastest growing economy in the world, Bahaa expects the language to be popular with students. He referred to a February report by prominent British language expert David Graddol, who said the idea of English being a solitary universal language was outdated. Graddol said that by 2050, Chinese would continue its predominance as the most common native tongue in the world. Including Chinese in preparatory and secondary school curricula also seems to be part of a wider plan aimed at teaching the language in higher education institutions as well. The Chinese language department at Cairo University which opened almost four years ago, added to four other university departments teaching Chinese across the country. Out of hundreds of job applicants in the new Chinese-Egyptian school, one was Asmaa Mohsen, a fresh graduate at the Chinese department of Cairo University who hoped her knowledge of Chinese would help her obtain a lucrative job after graduation. "Look at the products in our markets; most of them are labelled 'Made in China'," Mohsen said, adding that most Chinese language graduates do indeed get well-paying jobs. She said the demand for their expertise far exceeded the 400 or so Chinese language students across the country who graduate every year. Egyptians are not alone in wanting to understand Chinese. The Scottish government recently announced plans to develop crash courses in Mandarin, the official Chinese language, for students, academics and business people in order to promote stronger links with Beijing. Chinese is also a second language in the schools of Singapore, South Korea and Japan. "China has enjoyed breathtaking economic growth in the past two decades," reports the Chinese Embassy's website. "As its economic and political clout grows, the Chinese language has also proved increasingly popular among students of other countries." According to the protocol signed between the two countries, China has chosen President Hosni Mubarak's home village Kafr Al-Musilha in Menoufiya governorate out of 4,640 Egyptian villages to set up the first rural multi-stage school which will include a class for children with special needs. Commenting on his government's decision, China's ambassador to Cairo said this was a way of honouring and showing appreciation to the Egyptian president. If things go according to plan, one Chinese school is to be built in every Egyptian governorate. One such school is about to be finished and will open its doors this school year in Sharqiya governorate.
