The handover ceremony for 4500 sets of school furniture (one set contains one desk and one chair) was held on December 20th, 2022. Honorable Minister Alexander Teabo, HE Ambassador Tang Songgen, Secretary Roreti Eritai, MOE Directors and staff  attended the ceremony. Church education directors and school leaders in South Tarawa and outer islands were also invited to witness the event.

Honorable Minister Alexander delivered the keynote speech. He said a friend in need is a friend indeed, and expressed thanks to the Chinese Government for the donation. Kiribati Government is grateful that the children of Kiribati through Primary schools to Senior Secondary schools will have their learning conditions improved. This generous offer is a real game changer from primary to secondary education in Kiribati. Those proper school furniture is one of the determinants for quality education and will ensure students’ success in learning and future lives.

HE Ambassador said that high quality education is an important factor in achieving KV20. The Embassy is pleased to work with MOE team to implement various projects, such as China Government Scholarship, School Infrastructure, Confucius Corner, Chinese Language Course etc. Children are the future of a nation. In China we call students flowers of the country, and teachers are the gardeners who take care of those flowers every day. The Chinese side attaches great importance to Kiribati-China education cooperation and will continue our joint endeavor to bring more benefits to the people.

This year China provided 4500 sets of brand new school desks and chairs to Kiribati government, following last year’s 3000 sets. Those new school furniture will provide better conditions for Kiribati students to focus on study and make great progress. Many schools in South Tarawa and outer islands will use these safe and quality furniture soon.