Chinese embassy hosts farewell reception for Seychellois students |26 October 2022

The group of students and their representatives in a souvenir photograph with Minister Valentin and Ambassador Guo (Photo: Joena Meme)

● Presents air tickets and allowance 

The Chinese embassy yesterday hosted a farewell reception at its headquarters in St Louis for Seychellois students on Chinese government scholarship, who are returning to their universities for further studies.

So far 19 students who were awarded Chinese government scholarships have expressed their willingness to return to their universities, among them six have already left for China this month.

Yesterday, eight students and six family members representing those who have already left, received their air tickets and were granted an allowance of 200 dollars by Chinese ambassador Guo Wei and the Seychelles’ Minister for Education, Dr Justin Valentin.

The students will be pursuing their studies in various fields namely arts, international commerce and economy, business administration, engineering among others.

Some of the students are furthering their studies while others are returning to continue their courses which were interrupted due to Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

When addressing the students and the guests, Ambassador Guo congratulated the students for their patience, for having waited a long time to resume their studies.

She also thanked those who were forced to follow their courses online for their perseverance and commitment despite various challenges which affected the studies such as poor internet connection, time difference and economic pressure.

She also thanked the Seychelles’ Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, which have long supported the Chinese scholarship programme by providing an effective coordination with the embassy to help the students.

“It is thanks to the support from various partners and the enthusiasm of the young Seychellois that the scholarship programme has not only never been interrupted but has continuously received applications for the past three years. I would like to inform the public that the application for the year 2023/2024 is now open and we await your interest and support,” said Ambassador Guo Wei.

It should be noted since the programme was initiated under the Seychelles-China cooperation, over 180 Seychellois students have followed their studies in China.

“I am happy to see many of them have become artists, diplomats, architects, painters and journalists, serving the country and helping in the national development and friendship between our two countries,” she added.

For his part, Minister Valentin said China has always been a loyal partner to Seychelles in the development of its tertiary education for the youth.

“In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic the Chinese government continued to offer scholarships to our students and through its embassy has ensured there were follow-ups and was the intermediary between our students and the Chinese universities,” he said.

Dr Valentin added that the embassy also came to the students’ assistance when they had online connectivity issues by providing financial support to cover their daily expenses.

“The continued devotion, commitment and support of the Chinese government is testimony to the good collaboration and cooperation between the two countries and we are grateful to the Chinese government and I thank the country and its people,” said Dr Valentin.

Seychelles NATION spoke to two students who will be pursuing their studies, namely Jellissa Julie, who will pursuing her masters in Political Theory, and Calvin Malbrook who is returning to China to continue his studies is Business Administration.

Julie, 27, is returning to the East China Normal University for a four-year period. She initially left Seychelles in 2019 for her degree in politics and this was interrupted due to Covid-19 when she was here on holiday the following year, forcing her to complete her studies online.

When presenting the vote of thanks on behalf of the other students, Ms Julie said she was grateful for all the positive impact the Seychelles-China diplomatic relations have brought since 1976.

“We shall be forever grateful to the Chinese government for giving us the opportunity to pursue further studies in our respective fields. We vow to be fully committed towards our studies, and be great ambassadors of our beautiful country, all while also indulging into the Chinese culture,” she said.

For his part, Mr Malbrook is returning to China to complete the remaining two years of his four-year study which started in 2017 and was interrupted in 2019 by Covid-19. The 24-year-old will be based at the Beijing Technology and Business University.

“I was always interested in Business and after my A-Levels where I studied economics, computer science and mathematics, I decided to pursue my studies in this field and I really enjoyed it,” said Mr Malbrook.

He said learning Chinese language was challenging at the beginning but it was a worthwhile experience and he is looking forward to return to China.

The students are completing their formalities and are expected to leave Seychelles either late November or early December this year.

Patsy Canaya