Taiwan language education program opens in India

New Delhi, India, Aug. 2 (CNA): A Taiwanese education program established at a state-funded university in India for the first time has opened officially to help promote Chinese language-learning in the South Asian country.

Speaking at the opening ceremony on Thursday, S.M. Sajid, president of Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi, said he was grateful for Taiwan's help in providing language teachers, as there are not enough teachers in India who can teach Chinese.

Chen Tzu-ching, a Taiwanese teacher working for the program, arrived in the country in May and started giving lessons July 29 to around 20 students.

T.C.A. Rangachari, dean of the university's Academy of International Study, who helped establish the program, said he hopes the students will be able to speak fluent Chinese after attending the 360-hour courses.

The education center, which teaches traditional Chinese characters rather than the simplified characters used in mainland China, can better showcase the beauty and essence of Chinese culture, Taiwan's representative to India James Tien said at the ceremony.

Taiwan's Ministry of Education has designated National Tsing Hua University to promote higher education exchanges in India. Six other Chinese language teachers from Taiwan have also been stationed at two additional education centers at O.P. Jindal Global University in the state of Haryana and at Amity University in the state of Uttar Pradesh.