Makerere University to launch Chinese degree

Oct 22, 2018

Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Vice Chancellor Makerere University noted that Chinese businesses are setting up companies in Uganda, posing a huge demand for workers.

Makerere University is to launch a bachelor degree of Chinese and Asian studies, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, the dean school of languages and literature and communication has said.

The course will be launched in the 2019/2020 academic year.

Like many other undergraduate degrees at the school of humanities, the degree will be a three-year program. Then the best students will get the opportunity to travel to China.

Working with the Confucius Institute, the school of languages and communication has successfully defended the programme before the senate academic affairs committee. The programme will soon be tabled before the senate for final approval.

According Mushengyezi, the degree programme is important because currently Makerere University is teaching the subject of Chinese which is offered on the Bachelor of Arts degree.

"This means a student has to combine Chinese with another subject which as the institute thought it was not good enough. There is a lot to learn from China and from the Asian continent as a whole," he stressed.

He further noted that China is poised to be the leading economy in the world, also the largest single foreign direct investor in Africa and Uganda.

Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Vice Chancellor Makerere University noted that Chinese businesses are setting up companies in Uganda, posing a huge demand for workers.

"There is a huge demand in the business sector to trade with China because most of the Ugandan Imports come from China, hence there is a growing need for Ugandans who can speak Chinese both for business, diplomacy and also for those who want to study abroad," Nawangwe says.

He adds that because of the many benefits, the degree will help to strengthen the mutual understanding between the two countries.

"The degree will prepare the student to be an all-round expert not only on China but also on the Asian economies. The Asian economy has the biggest and the fastest growing economies in the world," Nawangwe said.

Is Makerere Prepared?

He revelled that so far 15 students have been sent to Xiangtan University for a one year course in Chinese language and it is from them some will be selected to be the pioneer tutors. Next year more 30 students will be sent and among these some will go for masters and even PHDs.

Mushengyezi revealed that the Chinese government has pledged in principal to construct a state of the art building at Makerere which will provide more space for lecture rooms, offices, and cultural centre among others. All this is in preparation for the new programme.

"All these are geared towards helping us prepare for the new programme," he noted.

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