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Despite the expected economic slowdown in China, the number of students from the country seeking education abroad will not diminish for at least the next five years, with Canada and the United States continuing to be their top destinations, an American researcher says
Photograph by: NICK PROCAYLO , Vancouver Sun
Despite the expected economic slowdown in China, the number of students from the country seeking education abroad will not diminish for at least the next five years, with Canada and the United States continuing to be their top destinations, an American researcher says.
Rahul Choudaha, chief knowledge officer at non-profit World Education Services, said the continued demand from Chinese students for North American education may be driving them to arrive in Canada early, meaning schools looking to capitalize on the market may benefit more if they focus recruitment efforts within the continent.
“The base with which we are working from, just the sheer numbers of people who have both the willingness to go abroad and the resources to go, the numbers are quite huge,” Choudaha said. “I’m saying the demand-side of Chinese students is so huge that these economic upheavals will not make any difference.”
According to UNESCO, globally mobile Chinese students numbered almost 700,000 in 2012, up 65 per cent in five years. Choudaha said numbers also indicate the population of Chinese students in the United States grew disproportionately faster (210,452 added in five years) than in other popular destinations like Great Britain (27,319) and Australia (37,079).
According to the Canadian Bureau for International Education, Chinese students make up the largest portion of international students in Canada in 2013, totalling 95,160 (a third of all foreign students locally). In total, Canada attracted 293,505 international students that year, generating $8 billion from tuition and living expenditures.
One key driver of North America’s popularity for Chinese families is the global ranking of post-secondary institutions. Prominent reports like the Times Higher Education and QS World University rankings are highly regarded by upper-middle class families in China, and such rankings are usually dominated by American schools.
“The U.S., as a market, has always been more attractive for international students, including Chinese students,” Choudaha said. “It was always something (for them) to aspire to, and the rankings of the universities are a very big factor. The sheer choice that the U.S. presents has always been attractive for Chinese students.”
(Canada’s top three universities in the THE rankings last year are the University of Toronto, 20th; University of B.C., 32nd; and McGill, 39th.)
The large numbers of Chinese students, however, doesn’t mean schools looking to attract them should rest easy. Choudaha said there’s been a marked change in the type of student seeking international education, with a group he termed “explorers” — students with a high level of financial resources but lower levels of academic preparedness — rising significantly versus the traditional segment of “strivers,” who are motivated by career advancement.
The demographic is one reason Choudaha is not expecting a slowdown in Chinese students going abroad in the next five years. He compared it to the luxury-goods market, where demand remains steady as the clients are willing to pay the premium for a brand.
“The luxurious-products market, if you think about it, they are recession-proof products,” Choudaha said. “The population they cater to have the ability and willingness to be differentiated, and there’s a willingness there to invest in that, regardless of what’s happening in the economy.”
[Source:- bbc news]