China to help Indian teachers learn Chinese

Beijing, Aug 25 (IANS) Teachers in India will now get to learn Chinese under an agreement reached between the Indian education board and China's overseas language institute.

The Confucius Institute Headquarters and India's Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) have agreed to promote Chinese language training in India, reported Xinhua.

According to an agreement signed between the headquarters and CBSE Friday, both sides have agreed to increase exchanges of language teachers and students, with an agreement to help Indian schools develop Chinese curriculae and textbooks.

Xu Lin, a top official, said the move will strengthen economic and education-related ties between the two countries.

In April, the CBSE made Chinese a foreign language subject for middle school students in 500 schools. It plans to gradually promote the study of Chinese in 11,500 middle schools.

Prior to the signing of the agreement, an Indian delegation paid a visit to the Confucius Institute Headquarters in October 2011. The authorities promised to help train 300 Indian language teachers and offer 100 scholarships annually for Chinese language learners from India.

During the October trip, the headquarters also promised to establish an interschool communication mechanism regarding language teaching between Chinese and Indian schools.