AFGHANISTAN-CHINA: Afghan students study in China

Thirteen Afghani students are being funded to study for two years at Taiyuan University of Technology (TUT) in Northwest China's Shanxi province, Brendan Worrell reports for China Daily. The students, the first on a programme set up by Afghanistan's Kabul University and the TUT, are funded by the Chinese Ministry of Education and Culture's Hanban office. They receive free tuition, board and food, plus a monthly stipend while they study for a bachelor degree in Chinese.

Expectations are high for these students who after graduation will be proficient to work at the forefront of cross-border trade and diplomatic exchanges slowly developing between China and Afghanistan.

The students have already spent eight weeks in China and with little more than a year of studying Chinese in Kabul, the group is doing exceptionally well. They are able to read characters at a pre-intermediate level in a class taught entirely in Chinese. Their teacher Shen Xiaoyan conducts the class with a glow in her eyes that conveys the pride she has developed for her students.
Full story at the China Daily web site