Foreign students on the campus of Zhejiang University
The global media have been writing for years that Chinese universities are becoming increasingly popular among foreign applicants. Of course, the scale of the influx of international students into the country is not as impressive as, for example, in the United States. For instance, in 2012, according to the Institute of International Education, 764,500 foreigners studied in American universities, while in Chinese universities, according to the country's Ministry of Education, only 328,300. But these numbers are quite significant for China: according to the ministry, in 2001, the number of foreigners studying in Chinese universities was only 60,000.
As of 2011, most students came from South Korea – accounting for 21.5 percent of all international students. Next came the United States (8 percent), Japan (6.2 percent), and Russia (4.6 percent). According to experts, there may be several reasons why Chinese universities attract interest abroad.
First, tuition fees are relatively low. For example, at Peking University, considered the most prestigious, a year of undergraduate study costs foreigners 26,000 to 30,000 yuan ($4,300 to $4,900), and a master's program costs 29,000 to 33,000 yuan ($4,800 to $5,400). Even if you add relocation costs and living expenses (about another 50,000 yuan, or $8,200 per year), the total still cannot be compared with the cost of education at American universities. The savings become even more obvious considering that in the prestigious Times Higher Education international ranking, Peking University was placed 45th in 2013.
Another reason to choose to study in China is the country's growing influence on the world stage – both politically and economically. For South Korean students, the decision is often made by parents who believe that having a Chinese diploma and knowledge of the Chinese language will significantly increase their children's chances of subsequent employment. As for students from the West, by their own admission, they sometimes decide to move to an Eastern country not only because of attractive economic prospects but also for the sake of a completely new life experience.
Typically, tuition fees at Chinese universities are set higher for foreigners than for locals. For example, a year of undergraduate study at Peking University costs a Chinese student 5,000 to 5,300 yuan ($820 to $870), while an international student is charged 26,000 to 30,000 yuan ($4,300 to $4,900) per year. A similar situation exists at Fudan University (ranked 226-250 in the 2013 Times Higher Education ranking).
While Chinese students pay from 5,000 to 43,000 yuan ($820 to $7,000) for a year of undergraduate study, foreigners have to pay 23,000 to 42,000 yuan ($3,800 to $7,000) for courses in Chinese and 75,000 yuan ($12,300) for courses in English.
The Chinese themselves not only do not hinder the influx of foreign students but, on the contrary, try to expand it in every possible way. In particular, in 2012, the Ministry of Education allocated scholarships for 28,700 students from abroad, and by 2015 it planned to increase the number of scholarships to 50,000. In partnership with Western colleagues, Beijing promotes the creation of joint educational institutions.
As Professor Andrys Onsman of Monash University in Melbourne writes in his work, by 2013 there were already two such universities in China, and a third was planned to open. Such partnerships, he claims, have already proven their viability, and their popularity is partly due to the fact that graduates receive diplomas that are completely equivalent to Western ones.
In addition, more and more Chinese universities are introducing English-language instruction – such courses are already offered by 34 universities. Overall, officials share plans to turn China into the largest educational center in Asia by 2020, increasing the number of foreign students to 500,000.
As for the total number of students, China has been ranked first in the world for several years. For example, according to UNESCO, in 2011, 31.3 million students were simultaneously receiving higher education in the country. The United States was second with 21 million students. However, in terms of the number of students per capita, America still surpasses China: while in the US in 2011 there were 674 students per 100,000 inhabitants, in China there were only 233. Nevertheless, even this indicator is considered a great success for China: according to the Chinese Statistical Bureau, in 1978, when universities closed during the Cultural Revolution resumed operations, only 860,000 people were studying in them.
Significant growth occurred later when a program of active investment in higher education was adopted in Beijing in 1999. While 2.12 million people graduated from Chinese universities and institutes in 2003, by 2013, according to Time magazine, the number of graduates was to reach 6.99 million, an absolute record. As for the universities themselves, their number has grown from 598 to over two thousand since 1978.
Valentin MAKOV.
Lenta.ru