Chinese must in Pakistan schools

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Mandarin Chinese will be taught as a compulsory subject in Pakistani schools in Karachi city and other areas of Sindh province, officials said.

“Mandarin will become a compulsory part of the school curriculum in Karachi and Sindh schools,” a senior government official said, adding that the authorities want Mandarin taught to all secondary school children in the region by 2013.

A Sindh provincial government statement said efforts are on to include Mandarin in a curriculum that already covers Urdu, Sindhi and English as compulsory languages.

“Our trade, educational and other relations are growing with China every day and now it is necessary for our younger generation to have command over their language,” said senior provincial education minister Pir Mazharul Haq. Pakistan and China are long-time allies and support each other in all sectors, including defence. The year 2011 has been dubbed the year of “Pakistan-China Friendship”.

In a visit to Beijing in May, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani declared his government was “happy to see China shape the 21st-century world”.

Sino-Pakistani trade is estimated at $8.7 billion a year and Beijing estimates this will rise to over $15 billion in three years. This is still dwarfed by India’s $60 billion in bilateral trade with China last year.