Fewer overseas students in Shanghai

Overseas students studying in Shanghai enrolled in degrees stood at 24,000

SHANGHAI (Global Times) — Shanghai has seen a decrease in the number of overseas students from 60,000 to 38,800 mainly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Huang Meixu, director of the Shanghai Institute of Higher Education for Foreign Students, told the Global Times on Monday.

The decrease is “reasonable,” Huang said.

As a global financial hub, Shanghai has become one of the most popular studying destinations for overseas students. Despite the pandemic, the number of overseas students studying in Shanghai enrolled in degrees stood at 24,000, steadily accounting for around 60 percent of the total number of overseas students, Wu Yingjun, director of the international exchange office of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, said during a conference on Monday.

Jet lag has become a major challenge for overseas students who have to take online classes, Huang said.

According to Huang, many schools have been seeking measures to ensure students still have good learning experiences. For example, East China Normal University asked teachers to give one-on-one services for students with questions.