Current Situation of Chinese higher education

Analysis of Current Overseas Study Market

4. China’s Credibility Deficit

Many overseas study agencies have sprung up in the midst of the vast overseas study market in China, but their scopes and qualities differ. When there are not enough regulations for overseas study, overseas study agencies have no national standard to follow for their service and quality. Furthermore, protection of overseas learners’ rights can’t be guaranteed. Then, driven by interests, some overseas study agencies employ less than legitimate means in order to increase their earnings.

Some overseas study agencies in China exaggerate foreign schools’ educational qualities in order to lure more students, and some choose illegal private schools or workshop-like schools that have only a few rooms and teachers for students but crow over its importance and reduce their cost at the cost of students’ education. Students can’t learn what they want and finally get a diploma that is invalid in China. These overseas study agencies are a negative influence in this market and contribute to students and their parents’ loss of confidence in it.

In addition, some overseas study agencies use illegal means in order to get more students go through more procedures in their agencies. They may tell the students and their parents how to get a overseas study loan, and even create fake bank certificates for them, which makes the evaluation of applications in embassies much more difficult and credibility toward China decrease. Canadian embassies in China asked students who submit visa applications to provide original deposit certificates in 2004 to prevent any applicants who have overseas study loan or fake files from slipping through. This policy employed by the Embassy reflects the poor credibility of China to a great extent. Meanwhile, visa officers will pay more attention to the files offered by applicants, especially if they suspect Chinese applicants, and they won’t issue a visa if they find even a small question or discrepancy. So some applicants whose files are legitimate and complete may not get a visa due to an honest small mistake, and this is a big problem to all students and their parents.