Life for the thousands of foreign students at local universities may become easier thanks to efforts underway by the Beijing government. One coming reform is the establishment of special scholarships for outstanding foreign students.
“To attract more talented foreigners to our institutions of higher education, we have to establish a municipal government scholarship system,” said Song Lijun, deputy director of the Office for International Cooperation and Exchange of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission.
She added that the local government is also working on a new work-study system that would allow students to work part-time while enrolled at universities.
According to Song, the previous strict ban on foreign students taking part-time jobs in Beijing was the result of former labor policies. Under the new work-study system, foreign students may be allowed to take teaching positions not only at universities, but also at primary and middle schools.
The commission is currently organizing an education-oriented tour to some developed countries to learn about their work-study systems for foreign students. Beijing’s new system is set to take effect within this year, said Song.
On January 3, the commission also announced the list of 54 qualified universities and educational institutions that passed the first citywide evaluation of education of foreign students.
Over 25,000 foreign students enrolled at local universities in 2002, up five percent from the year before.
(Beijing Today January 20, 2003)
