Young students continue studies in Shenzhen back from overseas

Students attend a science class at Merchiston International School (MIS) in Longhua District. Courtesy of MIS

The Ministry of Education recently said at a meeting that it will formulate policies to discourage younger students from studying abroad. How’s the situation of Shenzhen’s young students planning to study abroad? And how would it affect the international schools?

Students aged13 to17 attending K12 education account for over20 percent of Shenzhen’s students studying abroad, according to Shenzhen Evening News.

These students mainly go to the U.S., Australia, the U.K. and Canada for high school, Hu Changting, a staffer of EIC Education, said.

However, due to the pandemic, many of these students have returned to Shenzhen to either continue their study online or go to the city’s international schools.

Xie Cai, deputy manager of EIC Education in South China, observed that many factors were considered in the authority’s decision.“Though these young students have guardians for their studies in foreign countries and regions, they are not adults. The protection of their safety becomes a focus,” Xie said.

In addition to the pandemic, some believed that there are other reasons for the new decision made by the education authority.

A staffer with Shenzhen Shinyway Education, surnamed Huang, suggested that the capabilities of young students to judge external risks are not good as their views on life and the world and their values are not fully formed. Thus they might experience some psychological issues.

Despite an overall stagnant overseas education market with the ongoing pandemic, many parents have consulted education agencies on their children’s overseas study plans.

A man surnamed Lin who went to a recent education fair in Futian said that he will not give up his plan for his daughter.

Lin believed that the pandemic is temporary and his daughter can make full use of the time to get fully prepared.

A woman surnamed Huang also wants her kid to study abroad.“At present, students in Shenzhen have great pressure to compete in high school and college entrance examinations. Studying abroad might be a good solution,” she said.

However, some parents have changed their minds, letting their children receive education in China. One parent said that after seeing the decision made by the education authority, he would give up his original plan, which was to send his kid to Canada for high school.

Some parents turned to international schools instead.

Many insiders from the education industry think that the new policy will present more opportunities for international schools in China.

Ouyang Jingxiao, an education adviser to a international school in Shenzhen, said that it is necessary for the authority to release related polices because going abroad at a younger age is unfavorable for students to form a sense of civil identity.

They are minors who must live with their parents and they also need to study Chinese culture and history, said Ouyang, predicting that more students will probably go to international schools, which will help boost the quality of those schools.