BY ADAMA CONTEH
232NEWS, FREETOWN
At a colorful farewell reception for the Awardees of Chinese Scholarship 2023-2024 hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Freetown this past Thursday 24th August, at the Bintumani Hotel, Chinese Ambassador, Wang Qing, Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Dr. Haja Ramatulai Wurie, and the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Victoria Sulimani bade farewell to 155 Sierra Leoneans student.
The event which was also witnessed by representatives from the Chinese friendly organizations and the Chinese scholarship awardees was been described as a welcoming news.
Ambassador, Wang Qing in his remark extended warm congratulations to all Chinese scholarship awardees.
They disclosed that there are 155 Sierra Leonean applicants this year that have been successfully admitted by Chinese universities and colleges with full scholarships, and 28 of them are Chinese Government Scholarship (CGS) recipients, 127 students have won the degree program scholarship of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. The total number ranks the second most in African continent.
“This shows us the high quality of Sierra Leone Students as well as the achievements of the “Free Quality Education, Congratulations!” the Chinese Ambassador said.
He also expressed heartfelt thanks to the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education for their support to the Embassy for the fruitful cooperation in the area of education and the people-to-people exchanges between China and Sierra Leone, and of course the farewell event.
He said in the past decades, China consistently made education one of the foundational and strategic pillars for building a modern socialist country in all respects, as they fully implemented the strategy for invigorating China through science and education and built the world’s largest education system.
“The government spending on education reached the official target of four percent of the GDP in 2012 for the first time and has remained above that figure since, and the spending in 2022 reached about US$ 900 billion. At the same time, per capita expenditure of Chinese households on education also increased substantially, which reflects the great importance Chinese parents attach to the education of their children. After years of hard work, education has achieved great development and played key role in enhancing national competitiveness, made an irreplaceable and important contribution to China’s modernization. Now more and more Chinese universities enter global rankings for the best universities in the world. In order to make education better support The Chinese Path to Modernization, we have launched China’s Education Modernization 2035 plan to set the direction for the development of the education sector from ‘capacity’ to ‘quality’,” he stated.
Ambassador Qing went on to say he is deeply impressed by the conscientiousness and investment by Sierra Leone Government on education, as President Julius Maada Bio made the Free Quality Education the flagship programme of the New Direction Agenda.
He concluded by saying that the scholarship recipients present that day are heading for China and will start on a new journey. Once they step on the ground of China, they are not only students from Sierra Leone, but also goodwill ambassadors to carry on the China-Sierra Leone traditional friendship, and cultural ambassadors to promote bilateral cultural exchanges, image ambassadors to positively portray Sierra Leone in China and as well as developmental ambassadors to contribute to Sierra Leone’s social and economic development with the knowledge and skill to be learned in China.
“Your responsibilities are much heavier than before. I am confident that you are strong enough to meet the new challenges. I hope you will cherish this opportunity, study hard and live up to what your parents and your country expect of you. I wish you all great success.”
The Director-General and Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Victoria Sulimani thanked the Government and People of the People’s Republic of China for their overwhelming contribution to the Human Capital Development, which is a key priority development agenda of the Government of Sierra Leone.
She said China’s contribution to the human capital development of young and enterprising Sierra Leoneans in the areas of agriculture, medicine, education, engineering, Public Policy, Defence and Information, Communication and Technology among others is remarkable.
According to her, there is hardly any Ministry, Department or Agency where one cannot find Chinese trained personnel or technical support.
“This is a show of true friendship and a demonstration of Special Relationship that has existed for fifty-two (52) years now; China and Sierra Leone have supported each other within the South-South Cooperation. Our strong bilateral relationship is built on mutual trust, genuine partnership, and shared values in the interest of our respective people and countries,” she said.
She sent words of admonition to the awardees, “You have had the opportunity to be selected among seven (7) million Sierra Leoneans to pursue higher education in the People’s Republic of China. This is a singular opportunity that should be guarded, a family and national pride. You are all going to serve as Ambassadors of Sierra Leone in your respective institutions of higher learning. This will require self-restraint, honesty, hard work, respect for the culture and tradition, national laws, rules and regulations of the people of China at all times.”
She went on to say as a nation, the desire for sustained human capital development will largely depend on their commitment to return home and put not only their technical skills into practice in Sierra Leone, but also those positive Chinese work ethics of discipline.
The Minister of Technical and Higher Education Dr Haja Ramatulai Wurie reflect on the role China has play in Sierra Leone.
She disclosed that in 2019-2022 a total number of 335 has been supported to study in China in various programs including Engineering, Medicines, Law, Administrators as Undergraduate and post-graduate, 138 females and 197 males.
According to the Minister, 164 students have been given scholarship from different institutions in Sierra Leone, advising them to be focused and achieve their goals in China. She also said that they should follow the rules and regulations of the Country.
An awardee Fred Konnah Songu Monson expressed appreciation to the Government and people of China for granting them the opportunity to further their studies in their country.
He also said that the Chinese have also contributed to the BIG FIVE which the President promised the people of Sierra Leone.
Aminata Kera Conteh another awardee also thanked the government for granting them such opportunities.
Statement was also made by Dr. Alpheus Koroma, President of Sino-Sierra Leone Alumni Association.
