14 Jun 2015

Chinese Embassy has donated teaching equipment worth over P250 000 to Kubung Primary School in Maun.

The equipment includes 250 sets of class desks and chairs, eight chalkboards, two laptop computers and six footballs.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, the Chinese Ambassador to Botswana, Mr Zheng Zhuqiang said Kubung Primary School, which was built and donated to Botswana government by his embassy in 2010 was a true reflection of the good relationship between the two countries.

He said they expected the school to grow, and they would therefore provide assistance to improve its stature. Mr Zhuqiang pointed out that the embassy adopted the school in 2014 under the ‘Adopt-a-School initiative.

He expressed hope that the teaching equipment would help improve learning conditions and strengthen relationship between the two states.

Furthermore, he noted that the year 2015, marked 40 years of diplomatic relations between Botswana and China, which saw cooperation in areas of education, health, trade, human resource development and cultural exchange.

He noted that China provided more than 80 government scholarships for Botswana students to pursue higher studies in his country annually.

For his part, the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Slumber Tsogwane said the teaching equipment from the embassy came at the right time when the government was reeling from the aftermath of the economic downturn.

Minister Tsogwane said the economic downturn had left government with continuous infrastructure backlog, which contributes to deteriorating education results, especially in the North West District.

He therefore expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Chinese Embassy, which has fully constructed and wholly adopted Kubung School.

Minister Tsogwane stated that the assistance from Chinese Embassy has borne fruits since the performance of Kubung has been improving in Primary School Leaving Examinations.
The school recorded a 66 per cent pass rate in 2012, 77 per cent in 2014, and 89 per cent in 2015. Ends