Hurdles Mount for Chinese Looking to Study Abroad But Demand Is Still Strong
Zhang Yushuo
DATE:  Nov 04 2020
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Hurdles Mount for Chinese Looking to Study Abroad But Demand Is Still Strong Hurdles Mount for Chinese Looking to Study Abroad But Demand Is Still Strong

(Yicai Global) Nov. 4 -- Demand for overseas study remains strong despite the difficulty the coronavirus pandemic has put on educational exchanges between China and other countries, according to experts who attended an educational conference in Shanghai this week.

Though the pandemic is well under control in China, international schools still face a shortage of foreign teachers and some students may be hesitant about going abroad, Michael O’Sullivan, former chief executive of Cambridge Assessment International Education, told the Asian International School and Education Conference, which was held on Nov. 1 and 2.

The number of Chinese students going to the United States will fall and they will head to European and Southeast Asian countries because of the strain in China-US relations and the pandemic, according to Cen Jianjun, chairman of the Association for Study Abroad Services and the China Education Association for International Exchange.

The US government has also tightened the visa rules for Chinese students, particularly for doctoral and master’s degrees, as well as for work visas. The number of applicants rejected this year is as high as 4,000, according to reports.

When the US previously tightened visa requirements, they were eased again two or three years later. American universities will be writing to Congress to change government policy toward China when they see outstanding Chinese students going to Europe and Southeast Asia instead, Cen said. Forty-three percent of the 660,000 who studied abroad last year went to the US, he added.

In the long term, educational exchanges will not change greatly, said Yu Lizhong, chancellor emeritus of Shanghai New York University. Chinese families want a different educational path and US universities want the best students in the world and the funds they bring, he said.

The Asian International School and Education Conference was organized by TopSchools, an institution focusing on international education.

Editor: Tom Litting

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Keywords:   overseas study,education