Greece to help Chinese students
Greece promised yesterday to send educational material and a language teacher to China to help the growing number of local students who are learning Greek. Education Minister Marietta Giannakou is currently on an official visit to the Asian country and has already reached an agreement with the Chinese government to strengthen cooperation in education and research between the two countries. During a visit yesterday to the University of Shanghai, Giannakou met with students at the Greek Studies Department, which was founded in 1973 by two Chinese men who learnt Greek in Albania. Some 200 Greeks live in Shanghai but many vessels for Greek shipping companies are constructed there, meaning there is a demand for interpreters. The students told the minister that a lack of resources was hampering their passion for learning Greek. «There are only 11 of us studying Greek but we love the language and culture of Greece and we are dedicated to our studies,» a Chinese student called Su Tao Yian, who also calls himself Dimitris, told Kathimerini’s correspondent in Greek. The head of the department, which has five teachers, asked Giannakou for help in obtaining better tools for teaching. He explained to the minister that there was a shortage of educational material such as books and films. Giannakou promised to send the material and a Greek language teacher but the details of the arrangement were not clear. Last week, Giannakou signed a three-year agreement with China to encourage closer ties in education and research. It will provide scholarships for Greek university students to study in China and vice versa. Greek students will also cooperate on research projects with undergraduates from nine Chinese universities.
