Eight young Seychellois receive travel documents to study in China |31 August 2016

Eight young Seychellois who will be pursuing three to five years of study at Masters and Undergraduate levels in various fields, yesterday received their travel documents.

The ceremony took place at the office of the Agency for National Resource Development (ANHRD) at Le Chantier Mall.

They are among the ten Seychellois who are the recipients of the Chinese government scholarships for the year 2016.

According to ANHRD there are currently 39 students studying in China and with yesterday’s scholarship recipients, the total number will be 49. The students have been admitted in universities of their choice.

The documents were presented by the ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Seychelles, Yin Lixian, in the presence of Terence Françoise, chief executive of ANHRD and parents of awardees.

The students will be following Bachelor’s degrees in Graphic Design, Political Science and Public Administration, Fine Arts, Computer Science and Technology, Food Science and Technology, Special Education and Medicine and Civil Engineering and Masters in Communications, which to ANHRD are priority areas for the country.

Congratulating the students on their successful admission and ANHRD for easing the Chinese government scholarship programme, Ambassador Yin cited a quote “knowledge can change fate’, a well known notion she said which has stimulated numerous children in China to learn and to enrich their lives.

“Therefore, the Chinese government endeavours to help the students from friendly countries like Seychelles to acquire the secret power of knowledge. We would be most happy if the scholarship programme could provide you with an opportunity to study in a university, where you can learn how to better improve yourself, live a more meaningful life and better serve your motherland,” she said.

She told the awardees they could find themselves in a good position to learn the Chinese culture which, she said, is diverse and unique yet harmoniously blended. When they come back they may find themselves a master of Chinese culture, acting as cultural bridge linking the two cultures and nations.

She also urged them to make space from their busy schedule to enjoy China.

“In the end you may find that several years in China can be too short,” remarked the ambassador.

Mr Francois informed ambassador Yin that the scholarships awarded by the Chinese government have provided the citizens of Seychelles the chance to make a difference not only in their personal lives, but also that of their relatives as well as the development of the country as a whole.

“This is also in line with the objectives of the ANHRD which is to advise and assist in the field of human resource development in order to improve national skills and create a framework for the development of human capital through the development of organisations and the individual,” he said while thanking the Chinese government for its active role in the development of the country’s human resources.

He urged the awardees to excel in their studies and parents to help their children at all times.

One of the awardees, James Finesse, who will be undertaking a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Technology, had words of gratitude to the Chinese government for giving him and his colleagues this opportunity.

He also described the studies as a chance to develop themselves and then come back to contribute to their country’s development.