Posted on 06/08/2005 8:54:16 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
MUMBAI: Yet another Chinese product has hit the Mumbai market, but this one is a little more lofty than cheap toys or electronic goods. China is now offering itself as the new education destination, where one can get courses in everything from medicine, engineering, finance and economics to science and technology.
Chinese educationists from Tianjin, near Beijing, who are seeking Indian students before their academic year begins in August, promise that the cost of education will be cheaper than that offere d by other foreign countries. That’s not all. English, and not Chinese, will be the language in which the courses will be taught.
"The minimum fee for any course will not exceed Rs 69,000(approx. 1450 dollars) per year," said Wang Hong, vice-director, Tianjin Municipal Education Commission, who, along with representatives of 17 universities in Tianjin, talked about Chinese universities and colleges at a five-star hotel in Andheri on Thursday.
As Beijing is already overcrowded with Chinese students, the country is now opening up Tianjin, about 120 km from the Chinese capital, to international students. Universities like Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin University of Finance and Technology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology and Nankai University are looking at Indian students who may wish to study there.
At last count, around 10,000 international students were studying in Tianjin, about 1,200 of them from India. "We have about 80 Indian students studying medicine at our university. Our textbooks, teaching and classroom interactions are all in English," said Han Rui, international affairs department, Tianjin Medical University. "In fact, most of the universities are sending their teachers to the UK to study the English language."
A four -year undergraduate course can cost Rs 92,000(approx. 2150 dollars) per academic year while a Masters’ course will be about Rs 138000 (approx. 3200 dollars )per year. A course in medicine can cost Rs 184000 (approx. 4300 dollars)per annum. "Our courses and certificates are valid in other countries, so students can get jobs easily," said Wang.
Traditional Chinese medicine is one course which the country is trying hard to sell to foreign students. "Every year we have more than 1,000 students from 20 countries studying traditional Chinese medicine," said Prof Xu Li, vice-dean, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
China is also looking at selling its high school education to students in India. "We want Indian schools to send their students to our schools and learn about our culture and education system. We would also like our students to come to India on study tours," said Wang. China Tianjin High School, China Tianjin Yao Hua High School, Tianjin Experimental High School and China Tianjin Xinhua High School are some of the schools that are trying to sell in India.
Although learning the Chinese language takes a back seat, universities and colleges are devoting time to teaching the language to foreign students.
"Learning the language will only make foreign students feel comfortable. We have four levels of learning Chinese. But language learning happens along with the course. Not knowing the language is no reason not to be able to study in China," said Liang Dezhong, deputy director, Tianjin Normal University.
That would take a lot of pasta!......
Are they seeking studentists? Will the skills they learn someday be useful to an employerist?
No sir, u just misunderestimate the English skills of Indians :)
I don't know. I've heard buisness manager types use similar words like incentivize, authorivize, and classificate.
Aw c'mon... dont tell me u did not get the "misunderestimate" joke.. :(
English is a dynamic language, and who knows, v cud b wrtg lik dis sum time soon.
The real threat to American public schools is distance learning provided by Asian tutors (Hello, Walmart?).Homeschooling required for American History . . .
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