Overseas media reports that foreign students in China would have to leave the country during the August Olympic Games were "totally fabricated", the Ministry of Education said Friday.

"Recently, some foreign media say China requires foreign students to leave during the Games. It completely goes against the facts," ministry spokesman Wang Xuming said.

Relevant departments and universities "have never asked foreign students to leave China during the Olympics and Paralympics. During that time, foreign students could stay and some of them would join volunteer services".

He added international cooperation and exchanges in the educational field would proceed as usual, including accepting foreign students who would come to study in China.

Official statistics show China attracted more than 162,000 students from 185 countries and regions in 2006, triple that of 2000.

Foreign students entered more than 500 universities and higher education institutes and their research topics covered almost all academic subjects available in China.

(Xinhua News Agency April 19, 2008)