Press releases

MYADEL DISTRICT, 16 August (BelTA) – The number of Chinese language teachers at Belarusian schools will be increased, Belarus’ Education Minister Igor Karpenko told reporters on 16 August, BelTA has learned.

According to the minister, there are plans to increase the number of schools where the Chinese language is taught. “We do not have enough teachers. An increasing number of graduates of Minsk State Linguistic University are hired by Chinese companies. This year we are opening courses to train Chinese language teachers,” Igor Karpenko said.

The training will be available in the intra-mural and extra-mural forms. This is an experimental project with the Confucius Institute at Belarusian State University.

The first group of 25 people will get down to studying on 1 September. The training will be sponsored by the government. At first teachers will be offered an intensive training course, after that they will study Chinese intra-murally and extra-murally.

At present Belarus has six schools where Chinese is taught as a mandatory discipline; another several dozen schools offer Chinese as a selective course.

Igor Karpenko and China’s Ambassador to Belarus Cui Qiming visited the Zubrenok education and recuperation center on 16 August. They met with the Chinese children who are spending holidays there and answered their questions.

As was reported earlier, 150 children from China were invited to Belarus for recuperation and treatment at the Zubrenok education and recuperation center. Following doctors’ recommendations the children will be offered a diverse recuperation program including oxygen cocktails, coniferous and pearl baths, aromatherapy, aeroionotherapy and massage. The Chinese children will take part in the Peer Learning project to introduce Belarusian children to the Chinese culture.

The children will be taken on excursion to Minsk and will visit the Mir Castle, the Nesvizh Castle, Lake Naroch area, and the Nesluch Homestead Local Lore Museum.

The first group of Chinese children visited Zubrenok in August 2015 upon the invitation of the Belarusian president. Since 2015 the Zubrenok center has been running Chinese language courses every summer. This year the center has also welcomed children from Japan and Syria.