Scholarship package funding increased
Early last year, the ministries of education and finance announced an increase in funding for the Chinese Government Scholarship in view of the rising cost of living and studying for international students in China.
Recipients now coming to study in China are supported by a scholarship package ranging from 59,200 to 99,800 yuan ($9,000 to 15,000) a year, depending on their major and length of study. This is much higher than before.
For example, before the increase, recipients of the scholarship received a monthly stipend of 1,400 yuan, or 16,800 yuan a year. They now receive an annual stipend of 30,000 yuan.
Wang said 10 universities in China are offering the foundation program to more than 1,000 scholarship candidates who want to pursue undergraduate studies in China each year.
He said that in June, for the first time, all international students in the foundation program nationwide took the completion exam and the results were encouraging.
“An overwhelming majority of the students did well in the exam because they really felt motivated to study during the one-year program,” he said.
“We believe that the program, together with the exam, is a practical way to improve the overall quality of the Chinese Government Scholarship recipients.”
To better help the increasing number of recipients get to know more about China, last year the China Scholarship Council launched an event called Feeling the energy of China.
“Studying and living in China, one of the most fast-developing and dynamic nations in the world, students are not content with a superficial understanding of the country,” Wang said.
“Apart from cultural experi- ence, students also want to explore more places away from their campuses and they want to discover the reasons behind China’s rapid development,” he said.
More than 3,000 recipients of the scholarship took part in the event. They witnessed China’s high-speed trains being made, visited manufacturers including the Haier and Sany groups, and went to live in the countryside for a few days.
The number of the scholarship participants this year is expected to exceed more than 6,000, Wang said.