THE higher education systems of China and the European Union have become intertwined in the past few years. Recent trends suggest that there will be a substantial increase in the number of Chinese students choosing to enroll in European universities.
The European Commission has added China to the list of countries taking part in its Erasmus Mundus programme, which promotes exchanges in higher education. “The programme called ‘China Window’ has been launched this school year [2004-05] and has been granted €9 million to finance scholarships for Chinese students,” said Frédéric Vincent, Commission spokesman for education and culture. Only 140 Chinese students have enrolled for the current year, but a total of 5,000 students will benefit from the programme in the next five years.
The numbers of Chinese students going abroad to study over the past decade have been encouraged by softer emigration rules and by rising incomes, which permit more parents to send their children to foreign schools.
Higher education is highly prized in China and since the government allows couples living in urban areas to have only one child, the offspring’s education is very important. But, as it is considerably pricier for a foreign student to acquire a full university education, only exceptionally privileged parents can afford to send their offspring to foreign schools.
In the UK, the latest figures show that a record 35,000 Chinese students were registered in British institutions of higher education in 2002-03, the largest contingent from a total of 250,000 foreign students. The market has grown by 140% over the past two years.
“The most popular country is Great Britain, but there is a linguistic aspect that has to be taken into consideration,” Vincent said. “The two following countries in terms of importance are then France and Germany, but again it could be for linguistic reasons, colonial reasons, technical competences, and so on.”
The majority of Chinese students pursue courses in science, technology and business studies.
Chinese students are also being drawn to Europe because, since the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the fight against terrorism has had a direct impact on the number of foreign students who are allowed to study in America. The Patriot Act, the legislation tightening security measures inside the country, makes it more difficult for Chinese students to get visas so they turn instead to Europe.
“It is a phenomenon that has been observed in the past two university years,” said Vincent.
The number of Chinese studying in the EU may soon outnumber those enrolled in American universities, where 60,000 were registered in 2000-01.
Even prior to 11 September 2001, Chinese students were already turning to European universities. In the Netherlands there was a 50% increase in the number of Chinese students enrolled in 2000-01. Germany and France also saw significant increases.
In contrast to the US, some EU countries are considering easing the visa entry requirements for students to make the movement of students from China easier. Hundreds of Western institutions now have agencies in China that provide potential students with information and assist them with admission applications.