By Chen Jia (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-11 07:33

A British MP's bill to parliament could pave the way for more Chinese students to study in the UK.

According to a report in the Independent newspaper, Gordon Marsden, Labour MP for Blackpool South and a senior member of the select committee, proposed a bill on August 5 offering more scholarships to Chinese students.

He proposed that the new scholarships be "split three ways, with one-third UK government funding, one-third Chinese government and one-third businesses that are operating in China".

This would help bolster Britain's worldwide reputation as a centre for international students, the report quoted Marsden as saying.

Bill Rammell, the minister for higher education, welcomed the "constructive recommendations" of the MP, the Independent reported.

Jazreel Goh Yeun Yeun, Director of Education Marketing of British Council in Beijing, told China Daily the Chinese education market was "increasingly important" and that Chinese students were welcome in the UK not just for economic benefits.

"They add value to the academic and social environment, presenting a multicultural environment, allowing students and academics to interact with students from all communities and culture," she said.

According to a recent survey conducted by the British Council, Chinese students chose the UK for the high quality degrees to give them a competitive advantage when applying for jobs.

However, the United States is still a top choice for the 130,000 Chinese students who venture abroad each year.

A large number of Chinese netizens on the TAISHA website, argued that they preferred the US because of the scholarships colleges and universities offered there.

Yeun attempted to allay any suggestion the UK lagged behind other Western countries wanting foster one of the biggest international student markets.

She said the US attracted Chinese students by offering good scholarship programs possible immigration options.

But she said that most Chinese students who chose the UK, planned to develop their career in China.

For example, the new schemes such as International Graduate Schemes and Fresh Talents allows graduates to stay up to two years to gain job experience in the UK, she said.

"Employers in China are extremely interested to recruit these UK graduates with international work experience in the UK who understand cross- cultural communications and able to work in a multinational context," Yeun said.

Yeun also pointed out that many British colleges and universities had tuition and other discount policies but many Chinese students had not taken up on the offers widely promoted on university websites.

Yeun could not confirm whether the issue would discussed during the Sino-British education summit in this autumn.

However, Chen, a salesman at an IT company said: "I hope the recommendation about scholarships could become a new policy. Then I definitely will choose the one year master's course in Britain".

(China Daily 08/11/2007 page2)