BEIJING - There are more than 2,700 public universities in China and nearly 800 private universities, covering all disciplines. The Chinese government has formed the "Nine Prestigious Universities Association", which aims to promote and develop the reputation of higher education in China. The association includes: Qinghua University, Fudan University, Harbin Institute of Technology, Nanjing University, Peking University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, University of Science and Technology-China, Xi'an Jiaotong University and Zhejiang University.
At the beginning of 2022, 60 Chinese universities rose to global status, according to the QS World University Rankings.
Tsinghua University is considered the best ever in China, and ranks 17th in the world according to the Times Higher Education classification. Its entrance exam is considered one of the most difficult in the world, and it is not surprising that a group of the best distinguished students in the fields of industry graduate from it. medicine and literature.
Decreased number of foreign students
The Corona pandemic and successive closures reduced the number of foreign students enrolled in Chinese universities, to less than 100,000 students in 2020, and this pandemic created a number of challenges for foreign students represented in the difficulty of returning to those who left the country before the spread of the epidemic, in addition to the quarantine restrictions imposed by universities. On the movement of students, as they are forced into their university housing.
Although the pandemic has greatly affected all sectors of the Chinese state, government support for the Chinese education sector has not stopped or decreased, but rather has allocated nearly 150 billion Chinese yuan (22 billion dollars) in 2021 to support scientific research and development of education with the best interactive means.
There are hundreds of universities and institutes in China that provide foreign students with many specializations (French-archive)
Conditions for applying to study in China
There are two types of application: the first is the Chinese State Scholarship Program (CSC), including the China Silk Road Scholarship and others, and the second is registration “at personal expense”. The application process is carried out electronically, and is available on the websites of the Chinese Ministry of Education and Chinese universities as well. E-mail messages can be sent to each university for research and inquiries. In general, the admission process for university studies in China consists of several main steps , namely:
Fill out the university application form.
Submit complete application documents, which are:
A copy of the passport valid for at least one year.
High school graduation certificate.
Transcripts (transcript).
Two letters of recommendation.
The application is subject to review by the university's admissions committee, where the application is referred to the department to which you applied. Each university sends a response to the applications sent to it by e-mail, and in the event of approval, a letter of acceptance is sent so that the student can apply for a “student visa” from the Chinese embassies in his country, and then the study trip begins.
Challenges and strange culture
There are hundreds of universities and institutes in China that provide different sciences and specializations, in addition to the Chinese culture, which is distinguished by its uniqueness and diversity and calls for curiosity to learn about it, which contributes to attracting many students from around the world. However, this demand has diminished in light of the presence of a number of obstacles impeding pursuing studies in China.
Mandatory learning of the Chinese language is one of the biggest challenges faced by students, with the exception of graduate students who are exempted from learning it. This system has changed in recent years, after departments were opened to study in English.
Among the other challenges: the difference and uniqueness of the Chinese from other civilizations, which makes it difficult for students to deal with them and be in harmony with their customs and traditions at the moment of their arrival, especially since most Chinese do not speak English well.
The temperature difference between the Chinese cities in which the universities are located is another obstacle for students. There are very cold cities in the north, such as Heilongjiang, where winter temperatures reach minus 35 degrees Celsius, and there are tropical cities in the south, where summer temperatures reach up to 45 degrees Celsius.
The place of residence is also another challenge, as the nature of the university rooms is participatory, which results in the difficulty of obtaining a partner in housing with the same belief and customs that fit the Arab culture, so many Arab students prefer external housing to preserve their customs and freedoms, although this It costs them additional sums, in some cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, to more than 1500 dollars per month (for those who do not want to live in university housing).
$500 per student
Foreign students in China enjoy a number of attractive advantages , such as scholarships that secure their living there, where master's students receive 3,000 yuan (about 500 dollars) and doctoral students 3,500 yuan (equivalent to 600 dollars), as well as other advantages such as free housing and health insurance. full.
The study environment also includes students from all over the world in different cultures, languages and civilizations, which constitutes an opportunity for acquaintance and exchange of knowledge and ideas among them.
Until the beginning of 2019, more than 400,000 foreign students studied in more than a thousand Chinese universities, institutes and academic institutions, who came from nearly 200 countries (according to the Chinese website), and Arab students recorded attendance of more than 20 thousand students in a record estimate. The only official report on the number of Arab students was via the official Xinhua website, which reported that the number of Arab students in 2015 was 17,000.
Chinese universities provide access to a number of research and development, such as robotics, communication technologies, genetic research, cancer and stem cells, engineering industries, public vehicles and trains.
What are the most studied Arab nationalities in China?
The Yemeni nationality is considered the most in terms of the number of Arab students in China, followed in sequence by the nationalities: Sudanese, Egyptian, Syrian, Tunisian, Moroccan, Jordanian, Iraqi, Algerian and Lebanese.
Those numbers decreased to nearly 200,000 students between 2020 and 2021 as a result of the pandemic, and some estimates indicate that more than 50% of students left China, and did not return during the last two years.
Subspecialties are not for all nationalities
Until 2000, China allowed the study of all scientific disciplines, such as aviation and space sciences and nanotechnology, but the method of education changed with Beijing's desire to preserve the confidentiality of the research of its students.
China has relied on teaching foreign students on scholarships by their governments for subspecialties in departments and laboratories within universities. Entry is only allowed for students whose education is agreed upon, and it excludes students at their own expense from this opportunity.
Pakistan is one of the countries that receives Chinese scholarships for subspecialties, in addition to Iran, Russia, Syria, North Korea and Myanmar, according to students Al Jazeera met at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Beijing University of Technology.
In a meeting with the student Anwar from Libya, who is studying aviation sciences, he stated his great desire to delve deeper in his fields of specialization, but he is not allowed to see references or enter the experimental laboratories of sound speeds, while this is available to his Pakistani friend, who studies the same specialty and in the same department.
Special challenges for Arab students
A number of Arab students were also faced with challenges, as Hussein, an Algerian student preparing for a master’s degree in industrial engineering, says: “The current challenges are the difficulty of obtaining information from the supervisors of our graduation research, or even from assistant teachers, in light of the imposition of online education (online). ), and they often leave us suffering from searching for answers to our inquiries that we do not find deaf ears, in addition to the difficulty of moving forward in writing graduation thesis, and this situation is very different before the Corona pandemic.
Hussein adds in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, "It is enough for me to tell you that I try daily to contact the Office of Foreign Student Affairs and they do not respond, either from the pressure of communications or the neglect that we are suffering from in light of the pandemic and the absence of employees in their offices."
Tunisian student Yahya studies computer science. He also confirms the keenness of foreign students in general - and Arabs in particular - to communicate with foreign or Chinese students of higher years, to obtain answers to their inquiries so that they can pass their exams or complete the preparation of their thesis.
A number of Arab students also explained that the study before the Corona pandemic was better in terms of the amount of information they received and its importance despite the language barrier, including the Sudanese Ahmed, who studies a master’s in chemistry at Beijing University of Chemical Industries, and the Jordanian of Palestinian origin, Adnan, who studies economics at Beijing University of Economics. and trade.
In their opinion, distance education during the Corona pandemic was not useful, as their understanding and understanding of the topics decreased, and the situation continued for a year until the conditions improved and the study returned in an in presence.
Is China still attractive to foreigners?
The two students, Ahmed and Adnan, believe that China and its universities are characterized by the most modern means of education, in addition to having huge libraries full of books that enrich the students' collection of knowledge and science.
Other students - such as: Muhammad from Somalia, Abdullah from Djibouti, and Salim from Syria - stated that the Chinese state is free of racism, and that it enjoys a safe environment for quiet living, as none of them, according to their opinion, have ever been subjected to any kind of harassment, altercation, attack or Bullying about their nationalities, skin colours, or nationalities.
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