多国高校推出返校包机 争抢中国留学生

考虑到留学生秋季入学面临出行、转机等一系列困难，英国已有20多所高校联合包机接中国留学生返英。贝尔法斯特女王大学在英国高校中率先推出针对中国学生的包机服务。而由于国际学生流失，澳大利亚的多所大学正经历裁员潮。

Officials welcome arriving students at Belfast International Airport on Saturday. IVAN EWART/QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY BELFAST

英国大学包机接中国留学生返校

上周六（9月19日），三百六十九名中国学生从中国乘坐贝尔法斯特女王大学的包机前往英国，之后开始了他们在该大学的自我隔离生活。

Three hundred and sixty nine Chinese students started their self-quarantine life in the campus of Queen's University Belfast, or QUB, after traveling from China to the United Kingdom by a flight chartered by the university on Saturday.

一位将女儿从北京送走的母亲说，她“非常感谢”这次包机。

A mother who sent her daughter off from Beijing said she was "very grateful" for the charter flight.

她说：“女儿拿到学生签证时，我们很担心，因为疫情让国际旅行变得困难和危险。然后我们听说贝尔法斯特女王大学会安排包机。我们很高兴，票价也很合理。

She said: "We were worried when my child got the student visa because the pandemic makes international travel difficult and risky. Then we heard the news that QUB will arrange a charter flight. We were so happy. And the ticket price is fair enough."

英国高等教育统计局的数据显示，去年，在英国高校留学的中国学生人数首次超过12万，占非欧盟学生总数的三分之一以上。中国政府的数据显示，目前在英国留学的中国学生总数已超过22万。

According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, last year the number of students from China studying in UK higher education surpassed 120,000 for the first time, accounting for more than one in every three non-European Union students. The total number of Chinese students studying in the UK is now more than 220,000, Chinese government figures show.

据英国广播公司报道，包括学费和住宿费等其他消费在内，这些留学生每年为英国经济的贡献达到40亿英镑（约合人民币348亿元）。

These students contribute 4 billion pounds to the UK's economy per year in tuition fees and other spending such as accommodation, a BBC report said.

报道中还提到，自疫情暴发以来，英国大学一直担心，如果中国学生因担心英国的新冠肺炎高感染率和死亡人数而在秋季新学年退学，会造成重大经济损失。

The report also said since the pandemic began, UK universities have been worried about major financial losses if Chinese students withdraw from their courses in the new academic year in the fall, amid concern over high COVID-19 infection rates and a high death toll in the UK.

根据曼彻斯特大学的预测，退学率可能在12%到61%之间，而对去英国旅行是否安全的“焦虑”超过了其他担忧。

According to a forecast by the University of Manchester, cancellations can range from 12 percent to 61 percent, and "anxiety"  over whether it is safe to travel to the UK outweighs other concerns.

贝尔法斯特女王大学副校长格里尔在欢迎致辞中说：“为了缓解新学年旅行带来的焦虑和压力，贝尔法斯特女王大学是英国首批安排包机将学生直接送到贝尔法斯特的大学之一。”

"To alleviate anxiety and stress about traveling for the new academic  year, Queen's was one of the first universities in the UK to put together a direct charter flight to bring our students directly to Belfast," vice-chancellor Greer said in his welcome message.

包机的单程票价为616英镑。

A one-way ticket for the QUB charter flight was 616 pounds.

A cat relaxes next to a student at the Old Bodleian Library buildings, Oxford University, ahead of the new academic year, amidst the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Oxford, Britain, Sept 17, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]

学生们需在起飞前48小时内进行新冠病毒检测，并在登机时提供阴性结果。飞机着陆后，直接将他们从机场送往学校，学校将提供隔离住宿。

Students were required to take COVID-19 tests 48 hours before departure and needed to provide negative results to board the plane. After landing, they were transported directly from the airport to their campus and provided with quarantine accommodation.

英国已有20多所高校联合包机接中国留学生返英。英国早些时候宣布，将给予中国学生与欧盟学生相同的签证待遇。海南航空公司的航班将把中国留学生从重庆送往曼彻斯特，以赶上9月底开始的新学期。

More than 20 universities in the United Kingdom have joined together to charter flights for Chinese students to Britain. The UK had earlier declared it would treat Chinese students the same as those from the European Union for visa purposes. The flights through Hainan Airlines will ferry students from Chongqing to Manchester in time for the start of semester at the end of September.

据多家媒体报道，有关方面正在讨论让更多英国大学包机从中国、印度和非洲接回留学生，以鼓励国际学生在本学年返英就读。

Discussions are believed to be ongoing for more British universities to charter flights from China, India and Africa to encourage international students to return in this academic year, several media outlets have reported.

加拿大谢里登学院宣布，如果学生对新冠疫情期间的在线课程学费不满，将提供退款，以期留住学生。

Canada's Sheridan College is offering students a refund if they are unhappy with their online tuition during the coronavirus pandemic in a bid to keep them on the books.

International students from China wear graduation gowns as they take pictures around the University of Sydney's campus, where they studied for their masters degree, after their in-person graduation ceremony was cancelled during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Sydney, Australia, July 4, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]

澳大利亚大学担忧留学生流失  多所高校裁员

多国高校正在为数以千计的中国留学生提供返校包机航班，促使澳大利亚加紧在该国第三大出口产业中努力跟上其主要竞争对手英国、美国和加拿大的步伐。

Universities overseas are chartering flights for thousands of Chinese international students to return to their studies, leaving Australia racing to keep up with its top competitors, Britain, the US and Canada, in its third biggest export industry.

由于边境关闭导致高校预算继续严重缩水，澳大利亚的大学经历了一周可怕的裁员潮。中国教育部表示，对在国内高校完成的部分海外高校学位课程予以承认，因此一些留学生也不必再返回澳大利亚。

As Australian universities endured a horror-week of staff layoffs as border closures continued to cripple their budgets, China's Ministry of Education has also begun plans to recognise degrees partially completed at overseas universities in its own institutions, eliminating the need for some international students to return to Australia.

中国教育部上周四（9月17日）对中国官方媒体表示，允许高校“在确保教育公平的前提下”，接收出国留学生先行在国内高校借读学习。

The Ministry on Thursday told Chinese state media it would allow universities to accept students studying abroad to study in domestic universities "on the premise of ensuring education equity".

澳大利亚国际教育协会首席执行官菲尔·霍尼伍德说，该国面临着在下学年第一学期失去大量国际学生的“真正危险”。

Phil Honeywood, chief executive of International Education Association of Australia, said there was a "real danger" Australia would lose substantial numbers of international students for semester one next year.

澳大利亚内政部公布的数据显示，在截至今年6月的一年中，与去年同期相比，来自印度的赴澳留学申请减少了46%，来自尼泊尔的申请减少了60%，来自中国的申请减少了20%。

In the year to June, applications to study in Australia declined by 46 percent from India, 60 percent from Nepal and 20 percent from China compared to the previous year, data published by the Department of Home Affairs shows.

位于堪培拉的澳大利亚国立大学上周宣布，除了自愿裁员250人之外，还将裁减215个工作岗位。新南威尔士大学证实，该校将裁减256个全职职位，占学校员工总数的3.8%，以节省3900万美元（约合人民币2.6亿元）经费。

The Australian National University in Canberra announced last week that 215 jobs would be cut, in addition to 250 voluntary redundancies. The University of NSW also confirmed it would move to axe 256 full-time positions, or 3.8 percent of the university's workforce, in a bid to find $39 million in savings.

皇家墨尔本理工大学上周四证实，已接受355份自愿裁员申请，但表示年底前可能被迫再裁员250人。

RMIT University confirmed on Thursday it had accepted 355 voluntary redundancies, but said it could be forced to shed 250 more jobs before the year is out.

与此同时，悉尼大学宣布了自愿裁员的计划，预计未来四年学费总收入将减少5.5亿美元。

Meanwhile, the University of Sydney announced plans for voluntary redundancies as it forecast a $550 million hit to overall student revenue over the next four years.

澳大利亚全国高等教育联盟估计，为了应对新冠肺炎危机，目前大学已经削减了超过1.1万个工作岗位，而澳大利亚大学联盟预测，到明年年初，可能会裁减多达2.1万个全职职位。

The National Tertiary Education Union estimates more than 11,000 jobs have been cut to date by universities in response to the COVID-19 crisis, while Universities Australia has forecast as many as 21,000 full-time positions could go by early next year.

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来源：中国日报网英语点津  编辑：许雅宁

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