Education Authorities to Regulate Study Abroad Market

Anchor: China's Ministry of Education has released a list of approved Chinese and foreign educational institutions in order to regulate the study abroad market.

Zhang Cheng has the story.

The Ministry of Education has publicized a list of more than 400 approved Sino-foreign school cooperation programs and types of certification that will not be recognized in China.

This is the first time the ministry has released formal information on these institutions.

Li Gaofen, mother of a senior high graduate, is delighted by the information.

"I feel relaxed. I know that some universities can't provide the courses they've advertised. They mislead parents. Now we can follow the list to check which university and programs we can choose."

The ministry reminds parents and students to check on the qualifications and certification before choosing a university to study abroad.

Sun Nan, an official with Aoji Education Group, one of the largest education service providers in China, analyzes the situation behind the move.

"In recent years, more education cooperation programs have been launched in China on a larger scale. Some unqualified institutions have also tried to start these projects in order to make a profit. Some parents and students have been cheated by these schools. The education departments are obliged to make relevant information available to the public."

Earlier, former President of Microsoft China Tang Jun was accused of fabricating a doctoral degree from the California Institute of Technology. Tang responded that he had graduated from Pacific Western University. However, his rival Fang Zhouzi said that the university was closed by the local government in 2006 for selling degrees.

On its website, the Education Ministry has also updated a list of more than 10,000 regular universities in 33 countries.

Sun Nan says students and parents should not blindly trust foreign universities, and the list will serve as a reference to help them choose a school.

"Two years ago, degree mills were popular in private language training schools and preparatory schools in Britain. The British government later launched a campaign to inspect their qualifications and gradually regulated the market. The United States has the best academic environment in the world, but at the same time, it has the most diploma mills. "

She suggests students who want to study abroad should do thorough research on these schools and get information through official channels and trustworthy agencies.

Statistics show that about 230,000 Chinese students studied abroad in 2009, up 27 percent from the previous year. It's estimated that the number will hit nearly 300,000 this year.

For CRI, I'm Zhang Cheng.