China denies spending more on foreign students

Amid mounting criticism at home, China has denied spending more on foreign students with hefty scholarships compared to domestic primary and high school education and promised to raise standards for scholarships for foreigners.

The education ministry is mired in controversy after a We-media article criticised the ministry for spending only half the money on Chinese primary and high school students, a total of 1.64 billion yuan (USD 255 million) in the ministry's 2018 budget, than on foreign students, who have a budget of 3.32 billion yuan, state-run Global Times reported today.

In 2016, 442,773 foreign students were studying in China's schools and other education institutions, 11.07 per cent of whom received government scholarships.

About 15,000 Indian students, mostly medical students, study in China. The medical courses in China are popular as they are cheaper compared to private medical colleges in India.

China sees the rise of the foreign students as part of its diplomatic push to increase its global influence.

While promising to raise the bar for scholarships for foreign students, the education ministry promised to increase the spending on Chinese students.

"China has a strict process in awarding foreign students government scholarships. Those who don't meet the standards "will stop receiving funds," a Ministry of Education official told the daily.

Stating that there was a misreading of official data, the official said the budget of 1.64 billion yuan is only for primary and high schools directly affiliated with the Ministry of Education.

The official did not reveal the total spending.

"The number of foreign students in China has increased over the years, which helped in promoting China's image and influence. However, it is true that problems have been emerging as the number of foreign students has been rising," Lao Kaisheng, a professor of education at Beijing Normal University, told the Global Times.

The We-media article fanned online sentiment by saying the standards for overseas students to enrol in Chinese universities and receive scholarships from China are low. Moreover, some overseas students "just come to China to have fun" instead of studying, and have not made any contributions to China.

The ministry is planning to introduce rules for higher education requirements for foreign students in China, thepaper.cn reported.

The national fiscal spending on education in 2016 was in 3.139 trillion yuan, according to a report released by the ministry in 2017. Half of the amount was used for primary and secondary education.