Thai Ministry of Education Invites 1,000 Volunteer Chinese Teachers to Teach in Thailand

On May 24, the Chinese Embassy in Thailand and the Basic Education Commission Office of the Thai Education Ministry held a welcoming ceremony for 410 volunteer Chinese teachers sent by Hanban to teach in Thai public primary and secondary schools. The total number of Chinese teachers in Thailand in 2009, after another 618 arrived days later to teach in Thai private schools, colleges and Confucius Institutes, will amount to over 1,028.

Since the Sino-Thai cooperation in “Volunteer Chinese Teachers Program” began in 2003, the number of volunteers sent by Hanban to Thailand has surpassed 1,000 for the first time.

Deputy Secretary-General for the Basic Education Commission Office of the Thai Education Ministry, the Chinese Ambassador to Thailand, and Hanban Deputy Director Wang Yongli attended the ceremony.

The Chinese ambassador said in his speech that this year the number of volunteers in Thailand has surpassed 1,000 for the first time, which is a new milestone in educational exchange between China and Thailand. A "wave of Chinese learning" is burgeoning in Thailand, with 1,105 schools and colleges across the country having introduced Chinese courses and a total of 12 Confucius Institute and 11 Confucius Classrooms having been established.

The Chinese ambassador urged the volunteers to actively respond to calls by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. Last April, when taking part in an international conference in Thailand, Prime Minister Wen urged the volunteers to “spread the language while promoting friendship”. As messengers of the sincere friendship of the Chinese people towards the Thai people, said the Chinese ambassador, the volunteers should carry forward the volunteer spirit of “dedication, friendship, mutual help and progress”, strive to convey peace and friendship to the Thai people, and to be served as representatives of the image of China, a country that promotes peaceful development.

Hanban Deputy Director Wang Yongli said in his speech that Hanban would continue to support the Confucius Institutes in Thailand in Chinese teaching, launching scholarships, jointly training local Chinese teachers in order to help the Thai people learn Chinese and promote multi-layer and all-directional cooperation and exchange between the two countries.

Since 2003, Hanban has dispatched eight batches (3270 volunteers in total) to teach Chinese in Thailand, which is a huge support for the development and promotion of Chinese education in that country.