Mandarinteaching campaign kicks off
The government yesterday inaugurated a scheme to boost the teaching of Mandarin to Thai students, under which 1,200 volunteers from China will soon begin providing free or lowcost tutorials, initially at the primary and secondaryschool levels.
At the opening ceremony at Government House, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday lauded the longstanding ThaiChinese relations and thanked China’s Education Ministry and the volunteers for their help.
She said the Mandarin language courses, to be provided for one year from an as yet unspecified date, would further bolster bilateral relations and benefit investment and cultural relations. The two countries are already working closely on tourism and water management.
Another 4,000 volunteers from China will travel to Thailand at a later stage. This will be followed by various exchange programmes between the two countries, Education Minister Suchart Tadathamrongvej said. Mandarinlanguage curricula at the undergraduate level will be developed later for longterm use at Thai universities, he said.
