First Chinese public school outside China opens in Dubai

Chinese Consul-General in Dubai Li Xuhang speaks at the opening ceremony of Chinese School Dubai in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sept. 1, 2020. Chinese School Dubai (CSD), the first Chinese full-time public school outside China, has opened in Dubai. (Xinhua)

Chinese School Dubai (CSD), the first Chinese full-time public school outside China, has opened in Dubai.

The non-profit CSD, inaugurated on Tuesday, covers 12-year basic education from primary to high school, with a planned enrollment of 800 students. About 200 pupils were already enrolled on the opening day.

Representing the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, attended the inauguration and welcomed the opening of CSD in Dubai, one of the emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"We welcome the opening of the first Chinese public school outside China in Dubai as a step that reflects the depth and strength of friendship and cooperation between China and the UAE," said Sheikh Mansour.

The inauguration was simultaneously beamed online in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, where CSD's officials and teachers were recruited.

The CSD will "provide the children of overseas Chinese in Dubai with basic Chinese education of high-quality" and lead the Chinese education in going global, said Chinese Consul-General in Dubai Li Xuhang.

Abdulla Al Karam, director-general of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai, hailed CSD as a new beginning of the educational cooperation between the UAE and China.

"China and the UAE have a close long-standing friendship, and there's no better symbol for that friendship than a school," he said.

In addition to the Chinese national curriculum, the Arabic language, Islamic studies, moral education and studies based on the UAE national curriculum are what is taught at CSD.