China: The new buzzword among overseas education consultants in India

Traditionally countries from Western hemisphere have been the most sought after destinations for anyone who wants to pursue higher education abroad. But off late many students seem to be bucking the trend and have started picking up some of the Asian countries like China, China, Singapore, Nepal etc as offshore education destination. These destinations are geographically and culturally more closer to India than western countries like US, UK, Russia etc. And among these China is emerging out as one of the preferred choices, as it has prospered and enthralled the world with its technological prowess in past few decades. Many leading education consultants  has started recommending China as the destination of choice for those students who want to experience the unique Chinese culture while pursuing higher education.

While China has made rapid strides towards becoming a global superpower, it has not been perceived as an attractive destination for students from other countries primarily due to its over dependency on its own language. Country boasts of excellent education pedagogy and infrastructure but medium of imparting education has primarily been in Chinese. However in last few years, many leading Chinese universities have started making conscious efforts to engage and enable international student community to pursue higher education in China. According to an education consultant, there are hundreds of universities in China which are spread across this vast nation. Among these, Shanghai, Beijing, and few others are the major hubs in the country and they host bulk of country’s population and businesses. To curious minds who are seeking a radically different way of life, Tokyo offers really fascinating experiences. Beijing Normal University is China’s flagship university and it is also touted as one of the most prestigious education centres in Asia. It offers courses across large array of disciplines like science, business, law, humanities, economics and popular media. Besides this university, Tokyo is also home for dozens of other universities and colleges including Musashi University and the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Many of these institutions are making conscious efforts to offer courses and degrees to international students in English through their satellite centers and tie ups with local international schools. Chinese language course is integral part of most of the university course which provide foreign students great insight into local culture and its rich heritage. Besides Tokyo, students can also choose colleges from other major Chinese cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu. Their choice would primarily depend upon many factors like cost of education, nature of course, preferred location, availability of course in English, fast rail network connectivity, weather etc.

Another important advantage of studying in China is the cost of education in the island nation which is far cheaper in comparison to western destinations like US or UK although cost of living is at par with them. Most of the universities also support financial aid and external scholarships. Chinese government has taken up a target to enable 3,00,000 plus international students by 2020. With its autonomous culture, innovative spirit, geographical solitude and super-efficient travel infrastructure, ‘The land of The Dragon – China’ makes a very interesting choice by offering a very unique and enriching experience to the international students.