First state-run Japanese-Portuguese bilingual school opens in Amazonas

The beginning of the school year at state-run schools in Amazonas state was marked by the reopening Monday (Feb. 15) of the Professor Djalma da Cunha Batista Bilingual Full-Time State School in Manaus. Pupils will be provided Japanese language learning there.

Djalma Batista is Brazil's first elementary Portuguese-Japanese bilingual school, and can enroll 1,100 elementary school students for full-time education. “It's very important that pupils learn the values of Japanese culture—respect for diversity, respect for the environment, a culture of peace, commitment, and respect for others. Here these students can acquire these skills and even share what they have learned with their social circles,” said the school principal, Orlando Moura.

Eveny Seixas, a 6th-grader, welcomes the initiative. “I think this is a very important experience because being bilingual is my ambition,” she said. A theme room complete with advanced audio, video, and reading equipment will be set up to support Japanese language learning. The equipment donation was signed by State Governor José Melo and Japan's Consul-General in Manaus, Kazuo Yamazaki.

“This is a groundbreaking project. The Japanese government was impressed by this initiative of the government of Amazonas, [as it] shares [the belief in] the role of education. So it decided to cooperate with Djalma Batista school in adding this bilingual project,” Yamazaki said.

Governor José Melo said the initiative will also help build a skilled workforce that can find jobs at the industrial center in the capital of Amazonas. “I hope we'll be able to do this with other languages in the future as well. There's a pretty large Korean community in town, there's the Chinese... Going forward, the Industrial District of Manaus will be the fastest-growing economic model after the crisis. So we need to prepare our workforce to take advantage of the numerous jobs coming up ahead,” he said.

The State Education Secretary, Rossiele Soares, also places strong emphasis on the importance of Japanese learning in Amazonas. “There are currently 87 companies in the Industrial District which are originally linked with Japan. Many people come over to take up job roles here. We need to train our Amazonas locals to be part of this,” she said.

The school will have five Japanese teachers as part of a partnership with the West Amazon Japanese-Brazilian Association and the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM).

Translated by Mayra Borges