BMCE Bank Foundation and the Confucius Institute in Casablanca piloted a similar project in 2014.
Rabat – The Moroccan Bank of Foreign Commerce Foundation for Education and Environment (BMCE Bank Foundation) and the Confucius Institute of Tangier at the Abdelmalek Essaadi University signed a partnership agreement on Tuesday, December 3, that will offer Mandarin Chinese to fifth and sixth-year students in Bougdour, a primary school in the Tangier region.
Zhao Jiangping, the counselor and wife of the Chinese ambassador in Morocco, proposed the partnership agreement after visiting a primary school in the Bouskoura municipality in Casablanca where Mandarin is offered to fourth, fifth, and sixth-year students.
The BMCE Bank Foundation and the Confucius Institute of Casablanca at the Hassan II University signed a similar agreement in 2014 that allows the teaching of Mandarin through the network Medersat.com. The agreement meant that the northern Nador area, a geographically remote location, could gain access to language classes.
Zhao Jiangping underlined the importance of integrating Mandarin into schools in her statement: “For Moroccan students, learning the Chinese language allows them to live in a culturally diverse world, provides them with an opportunity to study and pursue professional life in the future.”
The president of BMCE Bank Foundation, Leila Mezian Benjelloun, expressed her hopes of expanding Mandarin courses to other Moroccan schools as well as universities. According to the foundation, she plans to partner with the Ministry of Education to turn her hopes into reality.
