College Admissions Proposal Targets Int'l Students, Again

原创 Drew Pittock theBeijinger

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It’s no secret that China is a go-to destination for some new graduates that are eager to make some quick cash and continue living that carefree college lifestyle. From teaching English to studying at a foreign language institution, despite all of its bureaucratic rigamarole, the country – and Beijing specifically – is a relatively easy place to be an expat. Unfortunately, as of last Friday, Mar 5, one member of the CPPCC is intent on changing that.

According to People’s Daily, during last week’s Two Sessions meeting, member Gao Yanming brought up three issues meant to curb the indiscriminate acceptance of international students into the country’s universities. The new standards would require all international students coming to China to meet the admission criteria of Chinese colleges and universities (seems like a no-brainer), as well as enacting stricter recruiting standards exercised by universities as opposed to filling enrollment quotas with quantity over quality and standardizing scholarship policies.

As with most directives of this kind, it doesn’t really seem like anything novel or groundbreaking. Rather, it seems to be the rehashing of a conversation that’s been going on for a few years now. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop Chinese netizens from weighing in on the subject. The hashtag #建议提高来华留学生招生标准# (CPPCC member suggests raising the standards of overseas student enrollment”) has since gained 140 million views on Weibo, with one of its top comments reading, “Great proposal! Can’t agree more! If we go abroad to study, we need to go through a lot of strict tests. We should treat foreign students the same.”

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Incidentally, this isn’t the first time the issue of stricter – or less strict – enrollment standards has caused a debate. Back in 2017, Tsinghua University removed a requisite written test from their application process, instead opting for an interview and basic materials such as high school academic records, SAT or A-Level scores, and an HSK certificate, a decision that was ostensibly meant to increase the number of applicants, thereby increasing the chance of attracting more qualified students from overseas. The move predictably pissed off Chinese citizens, who have to jump through notoriously difficult hoops such as the gaokao exam to earn a spot at the nation's most prestigious institutions.

Likewise, last year, the Ministry of Education suggested that Chinese universities should not “blindly pursue internationalization or expand enrollment of international students,” and that the Chinese university curriculum should be overhauled to teach international students about “Chinese laws, regulations, cultures, and customs, and to increase their understanding of China’s development and tell the world what they have observed.” At the time, Chu Zhaohui, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences said that Chinese colleges and universities were readily accepting more and more international students, regardless of their qualifications, adding, “That has caused the quality of the students to fall short of the criteria and affected the reputation of China’s higher education.” Moreover, Chu cited a lack of teachers proficient in English as leading to a decline in the quality of the education itself.