ISLAMABAD: Chinese embassy spokesperson said all the Confucius Institutes in Pakistan were operational and none of them had been shut down.
The spokesperson said all the teaching activities at various Confucius Institutes and Confucius classrooms in Pakistan would be carried out through online or offline ways by the Chinese and Pakistani teachers and the partnering universities of China.
On April 26, at least four people including three Chinese nationals were killed while four others were injured in a suicide attack outside the University of Karachi’s Confucius Institute.
The spokesperson said after discussions with the concerned departments of Pakistan, some Chinese teachers had returned to China for the upcoming summer vacation and would, as per request, come back to Pakistan at an appropriate time.
In the meantime, the spokesperson said the Chinese side plans to provide more quality teaching resources to meet the needs of the Pakistani students to learn the Chinese language.
Online classes
The Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi announced on Tuesday that it would resume classes online from May 23,
“This is to inform you that teaching and cultural activities will be resumed at the Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi from May 23,” said a notification from the institute.
The notification said that the classes will be held “online with the same schedule”. It advised the students to follow the notification of their class group for more information.
The statement comes after it was reported that the Chinese instructors teaching at the Confucius Institute of the University of Karachi have left for their country.
On Sunday eleven Chinese teachers living at a cordoned-off area of the NED University left under high security for the Jinnah International Terminal to catch a flight home.
Last week, the director of the institute Dr Nasiruddin said that the teachers at the different Confucius Institutes in the country, not just the University of Karachi, have been called back by China.
The director assured that the institute will not be closed, adding that Pakistani teachers are being asked to help in teaching Mandarin. He said that the institute was considering holding online classes and exams, adding that currently, at least 500 students are studying at the institute.
The Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi was jointly established by the University of Karachi and Sichuan Normal University in China in 2013.
