Australian gov't to boost Asian literacy

Australian federal government on Wednesday announced to boost Asian literacy, in order to help Australian children understand their nearest neighbors.

School Education Minister Peter Garrett on Wednesday announced to funnel 6.38 million U.S. dollars into the educational projects.

Almost 200 schools will share in grants worth 2.7 million dollars, while 3.65 million U.S. dollars will go to 10 organizations, including universities, to help Australian teachers and students familiarize with Asian languages and cultures.

"As more of our trade takes place with Asian partners, Australian businesses will need employees who are able to engage confidently with our key regional neighbors," he told Australia Associated Press on Wednesday, adding that some of the projects would result in local schools setting up virtual links with Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese and Korean institutions.

The funding is part of Labor's National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program, which aims to have at least 12 percent of students leaving Year 12 fluent in either Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian or Korean by 2020.

Source: Xinhua