In a strategic move to cushion the economic burden on less privilege Secondary students and supports Government Free Quality Education,  the Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone Wang Qing has provided grants to deserving students during the 2023 Bursary Award Ceremony.

The Ambassador Bursary Award Ceremony was held on 13, December 2023 at the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone.

Minister of Basic And Senior Secondary Education, Mr. Conrad Sackey (MBSSE), Deputy Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs Mr. Hindowa Buakai Bindi and others graced the ceremony.

Ambassador Wang Qing congratulated the primary and secondary students who received bursary from the embassy this year, reviewed the new progress of cooperation between China and Sierra Leone in the fields of education, human capital development and other fields in recent years, and expressed that China is willing to strengthen educational cooperation with Sierra Leone to enhance the well-being of children, make more contributions to the China-Africa community with a shared future.

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Addressing members at the ceremony Ambassador Wang said,  “Education is the cornerstone of progress. It plays a significant role in the development and progress of a nation, not only as a tool for transmitting knowledge, but also as a key factor in shaping the quality of citizens and promoting social prosperity. Through quality education, a country can nurture talents with innovative and cooperative thinking, which is conducive to the continuous development. That’s why both China and Sierra Leone, among other countries, attach great importance to education.

In China, since the foundation of People’s Republic of China in 1949, we make education a key national strategy, which has ensured that respect for knowledge and talent has been mainstreamed into subsequent development programs. We formed an all-round policy system of “awards, loans, grants, part-time allowance, supplements and exemptions” to subsidize students in need and help them to concentrate on their studies. Through efforts of decades, our investment on education yield huge returns. Now China is the second largest economy in the world and has lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty, achieved the poverty alleviation goal set on the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule.

In Sierra Leone, we are also exciting to see the great achievement of Education in recent years. His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio has made “Free Quality Education” the flagship program of the New Directions Agenda in his first term. In the last five years, Sierra Leone passed the Basic and Senior Secondary Education Act 2023, enrollment has increased by 37%, enrollment in the West African Senior Secondary School Examination (WASSCE) has increased by 478% , and the pass rate has increased to more than 77%. All of these have benefited millions of students and laid a solid foundation for Sierra Leone’s development in the future.

Education is also a cornerstone for individuals to fulfill himself and make one’s future. Last week my Embassy held an Award Ceremony for the 2023 Chinese Ambassador Scholarship. I told a story about Mr. Yuan Longping, the “father of hybrid rice”. Professor Yuan is one of the most important agricultural scientists who was committed his whole life in developing high-yielding hybrid rice. Due to his and many other scientists’ work, China’s rice production has increased significantly, helping maintaining China’s self-sufficiency rate of cereal grains,”

Minister Saki and Deputy Minister Bindi thanked China for its long-term strong support for education development and children’s undertakings in Sierra Leone, and expressed that Sierra Leone is willing to strengthen the traditional ties of friendship with China and promote new progress in friendly cooperation in education and other fields.

The Chinese Ambassador Bursary Program targeted a total of 166 needy students in Sierra Leone in 2023. In their speeches, representatives of the sponsored students thanked the Embassy for its care and love, saying that they would be the inheritors of China-Sierra Leone friendship and the builder of China-Sierra Leone cooperation.