Mbalenhle Ngidi has committed herself to coming back to South Africa and inspiring young girls in rural areas when she returns from her studies in China. Ngidi‚ 22‚ is one of the 32 youth departing for China next week to study at various universities there in a partnership between the South African government and the Chinese government.With a passion for history and legal studies‚ Ngidi began her academic life at the University of KwaZulu-Natal where she was pursuing a degree in legal studies and politics.She even studied French. But in her second year this year‚ she ran out of funds to proceed with her studies. While this was such a setback‚ it somewhat opened a door for pursuing her passion – studying agronomy (agriculture).As a young girl‚ who grew up in Zakheni township‚ in Mnambithi‚ northern KwaZulu-Natal learning about agriculture means a lot to her. She has committed herself to come back and make a difference in South Africa after obtaining her degree from Anhui Agricultural University in Hefei‚ China.“This is a major breakthrough for me. Now I can do something that I am passionate about. Also‚ the agricultural sector in South Africa is not in a good position. I think there are great opportunities of us as a country. I believe this is going to be a positive thing to women out there and young ladies growing up. They will be inspired to know that it is not about just getting a boyfriend who will take care of you...You can stand up and do things for yourself‚” Ngidi told TMG Digital.The youth are leaving in two weeks to pursue their undergraduate and postgraduate studies in various fields including engineering‚ business‚ economics and agriculture‚ and a non-degree in Chinese language studies. These skills will assist towards advancing the scarce skills agenda.The sendoff was held at the Chinese Embassy in Pretoria on Thursday‚ hosted by the Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Mduduzi Manana and the Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Tian Xuejun.Manana said the partnership began in 2008 but was then intensified in 2013 when the department was asked to coordinate this scholarship.“Since then our department has been involved in terms of recruitment and selection. Thus far we have 100 students there. The programme is jointly funded. There are certain costs that we take car off through the National Skills Fund.“It has been a good because these young people get to study in programmes that have been identified to be scarce and critical. They are expected to come back to contribute to the upliftment of our economy but there is no set obligation.”There are about 1‚000 South Africans students studying in China in various fields who are funded by different institutions across a variety of academic fields...