The Chinese Embassy in South Sudan on Thursday donated hundreds of textbooks and scholastic materials to aid learning at the China Friendship Secondary School in the capital, Juba.

The donations were made during an event organized by the school to celebrate “Chinese Day”, which was attended by the 13th batch of the Chinese medical team, members of the Chinese peacekeeping force under the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and officials from the Central Equatoria State government.

Cirisio Zakaria Lado, minister for general education in Central Equatoria State, said that the school built by the Chinese government in 2011 symbolizes the strong contribution of the latter towards the development of education in the youngest nation.

“We have graduated many learners with the help of China, and this proves the strong relationship between our two countries,” Lado said at the ceremony.

Nelson Wani Dere, headmaster of the Chinese Friendship Secondary School, said that the school has provided opportunities for several children from humble families to access quality education over the past years since its inception.

“We have graduated many students, of whom some have become ministers, director generals, and university graduates. If it were not for the Chinese government, we would see some of these students out of school or resorting to crime,” he said.

Chinese Ambassador to South Sudan Ma Qiang stressed that China has always given high strategic priority to the development of education.

“For many years, China has been actively supporting the development of education in South Sudan. We have built schools and provided them with supplies. We have compiled and distributed over three million primary and secondary school textbooks for South Sudanese students,” Ma said.

In addition, he said that China has also assisted over 400 South Sudanese teachers by facilitating their training opportunities in China.

Source:?Xinhua News Agency