Drastic Slowdown in the Number of Int'l Students Choosing China
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Almost
half a million international students studied in China in 2018,
according to an Apr 18 report from China's Ministry of Education
(en.moe.gov.cn). Yet that sizeable figure only represents a 0.62 percent
increase on 2017 enrolment numbers, pointing towards a significant
slowdown overall when compared to consistent double-digit growth figures
that were seen throughout the previous decade.
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According
to ICEF Monitor (monitor.icef.com), foreign enrolment in the country
had previously grown at an annual average of 10 percent between 2006 and
2015.
Unsurprisingly,
the region with the largest number of overseas students was Beijing,
with 80,786, or 16.4 percent of the total. The other top five provinces
were Shanghai (61,400), Jiangsu (45,778), Zhejiang (38,190), and
Liaoning (27,879).
While more than 196 countries around the world send their students to study in China (you can meet some of them right here),
the bulk come from Asian countries, including South Korea, which sent
50,600 students last year, Thailand (28,608 students), Pakistan (28,023
students), and India (23,198 students).
READ: “My Plans as a Student in Beijng? To Be Genuine, Be Myself, and Stay Focused"
The
Asia-heavy student population reflects strategic recruitment drives by
the Chinese government, who actively seek students from trade-parter
countries, offering incentives such as scholarships.
Only
some 63,000 of the half-million-odd international students in China in
2017 receive any kind of scholarship support from the Chinese
government.
Despite
the apparent decrease in enrollment among foreign students, China
remains comfortably among the top five study destinations around the
world.
The
slowdown comes at the same time that record numbers of Chinese students
are returning home after studying abroad. Thanks to a strong Chinese
job market, government incentives, and increasingly strict visa
regulations in countries such as the US, which can prevent certain
Chinese students from staying in the country after graduation, some 80
percent of local students are hedging their bets on China's job market.
In
2015, we reported that international students were increasingly
choosing to study in China's second- and third-tier cities over Beijing.
Now it appears that China is becoming less attractive to the
international student body as a whole.
Images: cuecc.com, the Beijinger
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