The Chinese government has plans to boost international student costs in China to match those of well-known study-abroad countries like the US and UK, according to reports.
Nairametrics reported that President Xi recently emphasized the necessity for increased investment in China’s higher education system, which is why he made this suggestion. The Beijing Institute of Technology then performed research that suggested raising international student tuition costs to five times what they are at this time.
The goal is to raise the quality of higher education in China and increase the competitiveness of Chinese universities on a worldwide scale.
With 492,185 international students, China came close to meeting its goal of drawing 500,000 foreign students.
One of the things that draw students to China is the relatively inexpensive tuition costs. Chinese institutions currently charge international students 20,000 yuan (USD 2,807) in tuition each year. Researchers advise upping this quantity to 100,000 yuan ($14,000), nevertheless.
China thinks that raising the tuition for international students will help Chinese colleges make more money. This extra money might be put back into the educational system in the form of infrastructure, research, and other investments, ultimately raising the standard of instruction and facilities.
However, the Director of Bonard, a research and analytical firm, Grace Zhu, also issued a warning that setting prices too high could result in a temporary drop in enrollment.
Zhu advised a gradual cost rise so that students could adjust and Chinese universities could compete with those abroad.
To improve China’s position and relevance as a destination for studying abroad, we would need to attract and recruit more international students with certain diversity,” Zhu added.
Some Chinese institutions have already increased domestic tuition prices by as much as 54% this year in response to decreased government investment in higher education.
