The Chinese Confucius Institute at the University of Zimbabwe is going to start offering lessons in Chinese language in February next year, an official has said.

Faculty of Arts Dean Pedzisayi Mashiri said on Saturday the refurbishment of lecture rooms was in progress and that equipment was on its way to Zimbabwe from China. "We are expecting it by the end of November," he said.

"We hope that after the installation we are going to start lessons in mid February. There are going to be two categories, one for basic Chinese and then the degree program. We have been getting a lot of enquiries from interested people and we hope this programme is going to be a success," he added.

Zimbabwe and China signed a memorandum of understanding in August for the establishment of Confucius Institute for the study of the Chinese language at the University of Zimbabwe. China would provide the equipment and two lecturers. The move was meant to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries.

Zimbabwe also plans to launch short-term Chinese language courses at Management Training Bureau Centre in Harare. The courses would cater for the business community, particularly for the benefit of Chinese tourists.

Source: Xinhua