Chinese language learners among Kenyan school-going children increase to 300

NAIROBI, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The number of Chinese language learners among Kenya's school-going children has risen to 300 amid growing Sino-Kenya ties, a government official said on Monday.

Charles Ong'ondo, director and chief executive officer of the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), told Xinhua in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi that currently 10 primary schools are teaching Chinese as a foreign language.

"The Chinese language has been gaining popularity since it was introduced in the school curriculum about three years ago," Ong'ondo said on the sidelines of the fourth African Curriculum Association (ACA) conference.

He revealed that the Ministry of Education is training more teachers so that more learners can be taught the Chinese language and culture.

"The rising global influence of China is one of the factors that is driving demand for the Chinese language among Kenya's students," Ong'ondo said.

He noted that the government's target is to have about 600 Chinese language learners in schools in the next three years.

The KICD is a state agency under the Ministry of Education that is mandated to develop syllabi for early childhood, primary and secondary education in the country.