Sino-foreign educational cooperation has been blooming in recent years.

Though it has introduced some quality foreign educational resources and made up for the shortages of the higher education system in China, it has also created problems for students.

Many foreign educational institutions are not qualified to provide high-quality instruction. We have seen that many unqualified foreign institutes are looking to expand their presence in China.

Driven by profits, some joint programs have failed to provide quality services to students and some schools are just "diploma mills".

Some courses in great demand are not actually offered. Instead, we have many low-level courses that are not so much in demand.

Many schools also say that they have foreign professors and teachers. But the foreign faculty members make frequent trips in and out of the country. This affects teaching quality and adds to the problems of students.

Some schools also use deceptive advertising to recruit students. For example, the so-called "All English language-teaching environment" is only a hanging garden. The problems of academic qualifications and educational quality call for urgent attention.

Problems can also be found in school facilities, buildings for teachers and the facilities and equipment in labs.

The only way that foreign education can help long-term development in China is when it gets adequate attention from local governments. In this regard, the nation should conduct more research into Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools and learn from the experiences of other countries.

To ensure educational quality, a thorough and strict assessment of teaching models, course designs, textbook selections and the quality of faculty must be undertaken by the proper government departments when giving permission to foreign education institutes planning programs in China.

More importantly, a comprehensive supervisory system should be established across the country, allowing the public to supervise these programs and schools.

The author is an associate professor at the The Education Institute of Xiamen University.