Zambian students back from China

ZAMBIAN students who recently graduated from various universities in China are back in the country. The students started arriving yesterday.

Due to existing international flight restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, flights into and out of China are limited and fares of the few available flights were quite steep.

This prompted their parents to seek support from Government in facilitating the repatriation of the graduating students and those returning for internship.

Zambia’s Ambassador to China Ms Winnie Chibesakunda in her send-off remarks commended the students for completing their studies despite the challenges of the lockdown and other unusual conditions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

She paid tribute to the Chinese government for taking care of the foreign students through the universities.

Ms Chibesakunda noted that not a single Zambian student had contracted the virus in China.

Ms Chibesakunda urged the students to appreciate the sacrifices of their families in financing their education abroad during these challenging economic times.

A second batch of Zambian students and others from the SADC region were expected on the second charter operated by Rwanda Air on August 2, 2020. The flights are also carrying Chinese nationals from Zambia who are returning home.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government through the Chinese Scholarship Council is still making arrangements for the return of students on Chinese government scholarship who graduated this year in line with the bilateral agreement on education cooperation between Zambia and China.

And a number of other students who were studying online from Zambia following the suspension of residential classes during the last semester also graduated despite being unable to return to China after the winter break early this year. Zambia has over 4, 000 students studying in China.

This was in a statement issued by First Secretary for Education at Zambia’s embassy in China, Nambula Wamulungwe yesterday.