MU severs ties with Confucius Institute after federal changes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The University of Missouri announced Wednesday it will end its partnership with the Confucius Institute following changes in federal guidelines.

The termination will be effective starting in August 2020, according to a news release from MU.

The university was notified in July that due to federal changes, it would be required to have a certified Mandarin Chinese language teacher in every classroom with a Confucius Institute staff member.

“While Missouri-certified teachers were in the classroom with the CI staff, recruiting and supporting the necessary certified Chinese language teachers would be cost prohibitive," said Mary Stegmaier, interim vice provost for international programs.

There are currently 13 student interns who teach Chinese language classes in Columbia Public Schools through the CI program. All classes are taught while a full-time, Missouri-certified teacher is in the classroom.  The school district plans to continue offering students Chinese, the news release said.

“The district will hire instructors to continue teaching alongside certified Columbia Public Schools teachers,” CPS Superintendent Peter Stiepleman said. “Children who have started Mandarin Chinese in middle school will be able to continue studying Chinese and children interested in learning Chinese will be able to begin their studies in high school.”