India on Wednesday sought Chinese help in training Indian teachers as part of a plan to introduce Mandarin in the CBSE curriculum for primary students.
"The best way to introduce China in India is to introduce its language at the primary level so that our children develop an
interest and knowledge about China," Human Resources Minister Kapil Sibal told the media in Beijing after talks with Chinese education minister Yuan Guiren.
Chinese officials reportedly said they were interested in a two-way programme to train teachers but no formal agreement has yet been signed.
Sibal said he had discussed the plan with the CBSE chairman and obtained his consent.
"I’m willing to include Chinese in the CBSE system as a course curriculum but I can’t do that unless I have standards and there’s a test. And that can’t happen unless I collaborate with you," Sibal told the Chinese.
The plan will be launched once teachers are available. However, existing Chinese language training programmes in deemed universities in India complain of constraints in acquiring visas for Chinese teachers.
A joint working group of both nations will discuss mutual recognition of degrees but Sibal said that extending recognition to Chinese medical degrees in India was out of its purview.
Sibal also proposed that India and China expand student sponsorship programmes on the lines of the Fulbright scholarship.
Krishna visit
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna will travel to China in November, his second visit to that country this year.
He will attend the RIC (Russia, India, China) meeting of foreign ministers and interact with the top Chinese leadership, government sources said.
The sources added that Krishna will hold discussions with Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of the meet. He is expected to discuss concerns over Beijing’s activities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, issuing stapled visas Kashmir residents and the issue of trade imbalance.