S Africa to teach mandarin in school

JOHANNESBURG;;South Africa state school
will introduce  Mandarin lessons next year in
bid to bolster cultural relations with china ,its
largest trading partner a government official
said Wednesday

Basic education spokesman Eljah Mhlanga
told Afp that South Africa hopes to teach
Mandarin to "as many people as far as
practically possible .

Mhlanga said that the programme part of  a
10year plan signed by South African
President Jacob Zuma in December last year
was already under way
"There are teachers who travel to China for
training while China has and will bring
trainers into the country to support us ,said
Mhlanga adding that China was footing the
bill for the training.

But the decision to introduce the language
has outraged the South African Democratic
Teachers "Union (Sadtu) which said it was
tantanmount to a new form of colonisation

AFP