Did you know that China has been quietly building schools and universities all across Africa and the developing world? And handing them over as outright gifts? These are in addition to those built with low-interest loans. But today, let’s focus on just a sample of those that were built for free. Not loans. Not debt traps. Free.
Chinese leaders remember what it is like to be poor. Not that long ago, China itself was one of the poorest countries on Earth. Millions of Chinese children once studied under trees or in crumbling classrooms. Through hard work and investment in education, China lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. And China is choosing to help others do the same.
Education is the foundation of real development. Without schools, there is no skilled workforce. Without universities, there is no research, no doctors, no engineers, no teachers for the next generation. China understands this deeply. That is why, through South-South cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative, it has been building modern classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and entire university campuses as gifts to its partners in the Global South.
These projects are a form of soft diplomacy rooted in mutual respect. China does not demand political changes or privatisation of national resources in return. It simply builds the schools, hands over the keys, and lets the host country run them. In doing so, China is helping create the human capital that every developing nation needs to stand on its own feet.
Now let’s look at just a sample of these schools and universities, one by one.
In 2026, China completed and handed over Phase I of the University of Kara in Togo. The new campus includes modern teaching wings for medicine, agriculture, and science and technology, along with a student canteen and administrative buildings.
In 2024, China handed over Satotwa Primary School in the Kavango West region of Namibia. The school features hostels, teachers’ housing, classrooms, libraries, and ablution facilities.
Also in 2024, China handed over Simanya Combined School in the same region of Namibia, complete with hostels, teachers’ housing, administration blocks, classrooms, and libraries.
In 2024, China delivered Liselo Combined School in the Zambezi region of Namibia, equipped with hostels for hundreds of students, kitchens, dining halls, multi-purpose halls, science and computer laboratories, libraries, and sports grounds.
That same year, 2024, China handed over Masokotwani Combined School in the Zambezi region, with modern hostels, laboratories, libraries, and sports facilities.
In 2024, China handed over Ramaeba Primary School in Kazungula, Botswana. The school can accommodate 560 students and includes 14 classrooms, a library, dining hall, teachers’ dormitory, and sports fields.
In 2024, China handed over Phase II of the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ho, Ghana. This major expansion includes the central administration complex, the School of Nursing and Midwifery with capacity for 2,500 students, and a state-of-the-art simulation centre.
In 2024, China handed over the Federal University of Transportation in Daura, Nigeria. The new university was built to train engineers and technicians for the country’s growing transport sector.
In 2025, China supported the construction of Minsenga Secondary School in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province, bringing secondary education closer to rural communities.
In 2021, China opened Mmopane Primary School near Gaborone, Botswana. The school is equipped with computer labs, science labs, a library, a dining hall, disability-friendly facilities, and sports fields.
China also built Kubung Primary School in Maun, Botswana, completed as part of the same China-aided primary school programme in the early 2020s, with modern computer labs, science labs, a library, a dining hall, and sports facilities.
China delivered Dinokwane Primary School in Serowe, Botswana, in the same period, featuring high-standard laboratories, a library, dining hall, and sports fields.
In 2025, China renovated and upgraded the Chinese Friendship Secondary School in Juba, South Sudan, providing new classrooms, furniture, and sporting facilities for hundreds of students. The original school had been built with Chinese support in 2011.
In 2022, China opened the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Leadership School near Dar es Salaam, Tanzania — a modern campus with classrooms, accommodation, and training facilities for future leaders from across Southern Africa.
In 2019, China completed and handed over the Alassane Ouattara High School of Excellence in Grand-Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire, complete with teaching buildings, laboratories, libraries, and sports fields.
In 2016, China opened Otjomuise Secondary School, also known as Chairman Mao Zedong High School, in Windhoek, Namibia. The school includes hostels, laboratories, a multi-purpose hall, and sports facilities for hundreds of learners.
Also in 2016, China handed over the China-Africa Friendship Primary School in Lupane, Zimbabwe, with classrooms, a computer lab, and sports fields.
In 2016, China built the Sino-Africa Friendship Primary School on the campus of the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, equipped with modern classrooms, libraries, and facilities for learning the Chinese language and culture.
In 2015, China constructed a modern technical and professional school in Bujumbura, Burundi, to provide practical skills training for young people.
Around 2015, China delivered Phase I of the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ghana, providing the original administration block, laboratories, library, and student facilities that formed the foundation of the university.
These are only some of the schools and universities China has given as gifts. There are many more across the continent — primary schools in rural villages, secondary schools in growing towns, and university campuses training the next generation of African professionals.
China is not pulling up the ladder after its own success. It is building new ladders and handing them out so that other developing countries can climb as well.
Education creates opportunity. Opportunity creates development. And development creates dignity.
This is South-South cooperation in action. China is helping build nations from the ground up. Education is part of that. And students need schools. If all nations acted like China, the world might become the one you dream of.
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