Riyadh: Teaching Chinese language in the country's schools has started to equip young people with valuable language skills and foster a deeper appreciation of the Asian nation's culture.
This language is taught to elementary and middle school students.
According to reports, 175 instructors are teaching Mandarin in Saudi Arabia, in line with an educational agreement signed by the two countries last year.
“Arabic courses are widely available in Chinese universities, and many international secondary schools also have Arabic teachers.” (Shutterstock)
The ministry has announced that young Saudi Arabian students will increase their chances of finding a job or continuing their education in prestigious Chinese universities.
Hanan al-Harbi, a Saudi mother from Riyadh, said she was “very positive” about the ministry's decision because it was “an important step towards promoting global culture and providing students with new and useful language skills, especially since its teachers They are Chinese.”
This decision is in line with the growing importance of China in the global economy and the booming trade and economic relations between the two countries.
quickThe facts
• According to reports, 175 instructors are teaching Mandarin in Saudi Arabia, in line with an educational agreement signed by the two countries last year.
• The Saudi Ministry of Education said it has selected several schools to pilot the language program.
“We see this as a positive development,” said Taotao Wang, a Chinese mother from Tianjin. For us, this means sharing the cultural classics of Chinese civilization beyond our borders.
For Saudi Arabia, this will help remove barriers to effective communication between our two countries. “This cultural exchange is about finding beauty in our differences and growing together.”
Alice Xiong, a teacher from China's Guangdong Province, told Arab News that she sees it as a “win-win” situation.
Saudi Arabia is an energetic country with a large number of young people. “There are more Chinese doing business and traveling in Saudi Arabia… Teaching Chinese in schools makes communication easy and direct for the youth of both countries.”
He said that Arabic is now taught in China.
Arabic courses are widely available in Chinese universities and many international secondary schools also have Arabic teachers. I hope the cultural and commercial exchanges between the two countries will get better and better.”
The ministry said it has selected several schools to pilot the language program, before gradually expanding the curriculum to include education up to third grade by 2029.
This phased approach allows the Ministry to assess the effectiveness of the program and make necessary adjustments.
Youssef Al-Benyan, the Kingdom's Minister of Education, has recently emphasized the government's significant investment in this sector in line with the vision of Saudi Arabia 2030.
