Confucius Institute in Islamabad Held Chinese Language Teacher Recruitment for Schools in Sindh

On November 21, Confucius Institute in Islamabad (CII), entrusted by Cadet College Petaro from Sindh province of Pakistan, held a recruitment aiming to select qualified Chinese Language Teachers. The candidates were required to take a written test and give simulation teaching. The judge group consisted of Brigadier General Muhammad Afzal, the principal of Cadet College Petaro, Mr. Fang sizhe, Director of Public Relations of HUAWEI, as well as experts from CII. The judges had examined and graded the applicants’ performance, such as their knowledge about Chinese language and culture, teaching ability, related background, and future career plan etc. The final results will become the major reference standard to evaluate if a candidate is qualified.

This is related to a plan mentioned by the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, to implement Chinese language course in primary and secondary schools in Sindh province during his visit to China last year. In September 2011, the government of Sindh decided to launch compulsory teaching of Chinese Language from grade six in 2013 in order to promote Chinese Language Education. The plan had sparked a Chinese fever in Sindh, nevertheless, it is unlikely to commence Chinese Language course program in a large scale due to the shortage of Chinese Language Teachers. As a result, the Government of Sindh decided to support some certain schools to open the Chinese course first and then gradually extend to other schools in the whole area.

On October 19th, President Zardari appointed Salman Farooqi, as the Presidential Secretary General, who hosted a special meeting discussing Chinese Language Education in Sindh. Pakistan’s senior education officials, principal representative from Sindh, representatives from China’s Huawei company and Confucius Institute in Islamabad had been invited. Ultimately, the meeting committed the CII to take full charge of the Chinese Language Teacher recruitment for Sindh. Huawei expressed their willingness to play their part in fulfilling the Chinese enterprises’ obligation to promote Chinese language and culture abroad by funding the recruited Chinese Language Teachers.

As one of the preferred schools to open Chinese Language course, the entrusted party—Cadet College Petaro is distinguished for its famous alumnus Mr. Zardari, the President of Pakistan. Mr President paid great attention to its Chinese program. The smooth recruitment of Chinese Language Teachers marked the commencement of Chinese Language course in Sindh, and also marked a new milestone in CII’s development. In the coming years, the demands on Chinese Language Teachers are increasing around Pakistan, which will bring a great challenge to the cultivation of local teaching staff. Served as the Chinese language and culture teaching center in Pakistan, CII will utilize its advantages to hammer at the cultivation of local teachers and integrate the teaching staff to meet the booming situation.