Chinese students targeted for British university growth

By Liz Heron. British government sets sights on Chinese students to reach its target over next five years. The British government has launched an ambitious drive to expand the number of foreign students going to British universities by 20 per cent in the next five years, with China being one of the targeted growth markets. It aims to attract 90,000 extra international students to Britain before 2018 and secure contracts with overseas institutions worth £3 billion (HK$35.6 billion) by 2020. Under the international education strategy launched on Monday, Britain will also double investment in partnerships with universities in developing countries and expand the Chevening scholarship scheme.
Last year, 10 students from Hong Kong and 89 from mainland China received scholarships to study in the UK under the British government's global scholarship scheme.  International students contributed £6.3 billion in living expenses and £3.9 billion in tuition fees to the UK economy last year. Undergraduate and postgraduate students from outside the EU need to pay twice as much for courses as home students. Income from students outside Britain and Europe now accounts for almost 10 per cent of universities' total funding. British education exports were worth an estimated £17.5 billion in 2011. The global education sector was valued at US$4.45 trillion last year and is expected to grow by 7 per cent a year up to 2017. Read more...