Chinese Government offers scholarships to Kenyan students
The Chinese government on Thursday offered scholarships to Kenyan students for them to study in China.
Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa presided over a ceremony to bid farewell to the beneficiaries of 2014 Chinese government scholarship program.
“Kenya and China are at a crucial stage of development and the exchanges between the two countries enjoy great prospect,” Liu told Kenyan officials and students.
The students who qualified for the scholarships will depart for China on Sept. 2
Sino-Kenya bilateral ties have been strengthened through diverse fields like trade, cultural and educational exchanges as well as technological transfer.
Liu noted both countries sealed cooperation deals when Premier Li Keqiang visited the east African nation in May.
“The cordial relationship between China and Kenya, featuring political mutual trust, economic and cultural cooperation has benefitted the two countries,” said Liu.
The Chinese government provides scholarships to Kenyan students every year since 1982.Currently, 200 Kenyan students are studying in Chinese universities through government funded scholarships.
The Chinese envoy noted the scholarship beneficiaries have always returned to their homeland to assist in development activities.
“By utilizing knowledge and skills learned in China, the beneficiaries are now serving in many professions and contributing to Kenya’s socioeconomic development,” said the ambassador.
Liu said besides the government scholarship program, China provides refresher courses for Kenyan professionals in agriculture, management and administration fields.
He added the Confucius Institute established in various Kenyan universities has fostered cultural exchanges.
China’s support to Kenya’s education sector has been instrumental in fuelling the east African nation’s economic and technological progress.
Kenya’s Principal Secretary for education, Professor Colleta Suda noted that China has helped Kenya to develop a large pool of skilled personnel.
“As a country, we have prioritized capacity development for the youth. We need engineers ,doctors and scientists to achieve vision 2030,” Suda said.
She urged scholarship beneficiaries to apply knowledge acquired in Chinese universities to solve challenges like poverty, diseases and food insecurity.
“The students should endeavor to acquire skills that are relevant to the needs of the industry. They should be able to initiate enterprises after completion of their courses,”Suda said.
-peopledaily.com.
Chinese Government offers scholarships to Kenyan students
