In today’s talking points: 3 million Yuan scholarship for ASEAN students looking to study in Jiangsu; Joint promotion of educational innovation between Chinese financial and educational organizations; Chinese government places bans on private schools; Australia’s Northern Territory to receive Chinese teachers
3 million Yuan scholarship for ASEAN students looking to study in Jiangsu
A 3-million-Yuan scholarship has been made available to students from ASEAN member countries interested in studying in the province of Jiangsu. The scholarship is part of a wider initiative to increase educational cooperation between Jiangsu and ASEAN. The director of Jiangsu education bureau has said that 60 students from ASEAN member countries have already signed up and been accepted to the program. The program looks to boost bilateral education cooperation under China’s One Belt One Road Initiative.
Read more at Xin Hua Net
Joint promotion of educational innovation between Chinese financial and educational organizations
The 10th China International Financial Expo ‘China Education Financial Summit Forum’ was held in Shenzhen last week. Major financial associations and Peking University Shenzhen Institute established the Financial Innovation Center of Peking University Shenzhen Institute. The Center has planned to establish a RMB100 million educational fund, and a RMB2 billion educational investment fund. The Center also has plans to develop national quality education.
Read more at PR Newswire
Chinese government places bans on private schools
Private schools aimed at children in first through ninth grade have been banned in an effort to control the poorly regulated sector. Education in China has recently been a magnet for investment as the government relaxed restrictions in the past to meet a higher demand. This lead to a great variety in quality, sparking the recent ban. The ban only applies to young students, as private schools targeting other grades are still free to operate. Legislators were motivated to enact the change by often-expensive private schools widening inequalities in access to basic education. The new law will affect over ten thousand schools and as many as twelve million students.
Read more at: Channel News Asia
Australia’s Northern Territory to receive Chinese teachers
A deal struck by the government of NT will see twenty teachers moving to Australia as part of a commitment to increase Asian language studies in NT schools. Four teachers will spend a year teaching public schools over a five-year period. The Chinese government sees this as an opportunity to improve the teachers’ language skills and implement their knowledge gained from Australian schools back in the classroom in China. An opportunity exists for the teachers to stay in Australia as registered teachers. The Chinese government is set to pay the costs of sending the teachers.
Read more at: NT News