File photo shows students at the Chairman Mao Zedong School in Windhoek, Namibia, May 30, 2016. The China-aided school was renamed by the Namibian government to recognize China's contribution to the country's education. (Xinhua/Wu Changwei)
WINDHOEK, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Namibia plans to extend the coverage of a scholarship program to 20 schools in Namibia.
Established in November 2017, the Chinese Ambassador Scholarship Program is aimed at providing funds to poor schools, urban or rural, across the country.
The funds from the scholarships cover basic amenities, like food, stationery and other educational equipment needed to create a conducive environment for learning.
The Embassy's director of political section, Feng Deheng, told Xinhua in an interview that to date seven schools in rural Namibia as well as schools in the capital, Windhoek, have benefited from the initiative.
"We want to cover 20 schools in all the 14 regions both primary and secondary. The chosen recipient school will get 20,000 Namibia dollars (1,486 U.S. dollars) per year and the program will run for two years. After the two years we will conduct assessments to gauge on the progress of the initiative," he added.
In June, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yiming signed agreements to set up the scholarship at Chairman Mao Zedong High School, People's Primary School and Monte Christo Primary School in Windhoek.
Feng said the Chinese business community in the country also contributed to the education drive, with the latest contribution of educational equipment worth more than 400,000 Namibian dollars (29,718 U.S. dollars), which was handed over during the visit by Ambassador Zhang to the schools in northern Namibia in June.
"We hope the program can assist people to understand the great importance China has attached to Namibia's education system," he said.
"In the future there will be more cooperation in different areas especially in education at grassroots as well as the construction of more schools," he added.
The education system in Namibia has been benefiting from Chinese government scholarships. Dozens of students have been able to study across different fields in China and an influx of students have enrolled in the Confucius institute of the University of Namibia.