Advice for UK Education Institutions visiting or recruiting students from the East Asia region; and/or working with local institutions.

 

Key Updates 

Japan - On the 27th of February Prime Minister Abe has all elementary, middle and high schools to close from Monday 2nd of March until the end of their spring vacations. In addition the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare have advised anyone organising large indoor events between now and the 15th March, defined in Tokyo as events with more than 500 people, to cancel or postpone. 

 

Summary 

On 30th Jan 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus situation a global health emergency and called for a more coordinated international response to the outbreak.  

 At the British Council, the health and safety of all our visitors, staff and the communities in which we operate, is our top priority. We support and cooperate with all local government agencies to put all necessary measures in place, to ensure the continued well-being of all with whom we engage in the course of our operations.    

This post is to keep UK institutions who are visiting East Asia for events or meeting the British Council updated on disruptions caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.  

For travel advice, please refer to FCO updates, and we would encourage institutions who are considering travelling to sign up for alerts - https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice. We also strongly encourage visiting local government health websites to stay abreast of the prevailing health advisory and precautionary measures in any country that you may be visiting.  

For IELTS test arrangements as a result of Novel Coronavirus precautions, please see: https://www.ielts.org/news/2020/changes-to-ielts-test-arrangements-in-some-locations-due-to-novel-coronavirus.  

We are monitoring the situation very closely and will continue to provide updates as the situation develops. Please find current information by country/territory as per below:  

China 

Updated 02 March     

Changes to Chinese Education institution semesters, class times and examinations  

Over the last four weeks, China's Ministry of Education and the country's schools and universities have made a number of announcements regarding their response to the current Coronavirus epidemic. The start of the new semester has been put back, examinations and interviews have been postponed, and a number of institutions have expanded their online education provision.  

In the last week of February, the MoE stressed that “in principle, before the epidemic is effectively controlled, college students will not return to school, and universities will not open. Once all HEIs open the campuses, strict management measures must be taken”. 

At the secondary level and below, school dates are set at the provincial level. All provincial-level administrations (including directly governed municipalities and autonomous regions) have postponed the start of the new semester for all schools and universities, including private institutions.   

According to the most recent information, in-person classes at schools and universities in all provinces (including municipalities and autonomous regions) are still suspended. Most provinces have not yet announced dates for re-opening. Although most had previously set reopening dates, these were cancelled as the epidemic continued. 

In the last few days, two provinces - both in areas of West China which has been comparatively lightly affected by the outbreak - have set new dates for school reopening.  Guizhou province announced on February 27th that schools should reopen in a staggered way, with students in the 3rd (final) year of high school and in the 3rd year of junior high school being the first to return on February 16th. The next day (February 28th), Qinghai province announced that schools at the high school level (including vocational high schools) should return on Monday March 9th, while junior high schools will return between March 16th and 20th. Both provinces' announcements, along with all other provinces' on-going announcements, state that these reopening dates are also subject to further notice from provincial education departments.  

Meanwhile, many HEIs have announced starting the new semester with all teaching being delivered online for the first few weeks of term. Similarly, many primary and secondary schools already started teaching through online platforms over the past two weeks. Another example of increasing use of online resources is Tsinghua University’s announcement that they allow PhD students to defend their thesis online rather than in person; the university will also add an additional graduation session in August for PhD students who were unable to graduate in June due to delays caused by the coronavirus. 

To make up for class hours delayed by the epidemic control, primary and secondary schools in Sichuan, Shaanxi, Shandong, Guangdong, Hunan and other provinces have explicitly stated to “compress summer vacation” in exchange for “delayed start of schools.” Most recently Jiangsu and Anhui have confirmed that higher education institutions could coordinate teaching plans for the upcoming spring term and autumn term starts from September, specific course teaching arrangements could be adjusted to autumn if not affecting the overall plan, also weekends and summer breaks could be appropriately reduced in accordance with specific circumstances.   

As well as the suspension of teaching, some examinations and recruitment activities have also been postponed. The Ministry of Education has ordered universities to postpone all scheduled interviews and internal examinations for postgraduate student recruitment, which are usually held soon after the results of the unified postgraduate entrance examination are released in mid-February (most of the results have been released by 22 Feb). The National Education Examinations Authority (NEEA) also announced to postpone some national exams originally planned in March, including PETS (Public English Test System) originally scheduled on 21 – 22 March.     

Meanwhile, guidelines for Chinese students studying overseas on publicly funded scholarships have also been announced. Now students who would have started to study overseas before March 31, are permitted, but not required, to suspend the start of their study until that date. Meanwhile students who are already overseas but whose course will finish before March 31 may postpone their return until that date and continue to receive support for living expenses. Students who have already started their course but temporarily returned to China, for example due to the Chinese New Year holiday, and are unable to get back to their place of study will also continue to receive support for the period until March 31. Most new application deadlines were postponed one month behind the original dates.   

The above guidelines only apply to publicly funded overseas study and not to the approximately 90 per cent of Chinese students abroad who are self-funded. The Ministry's advice to self-funded students is that postponing non-urgent travel is recommended, and that students should familiarise themselves with their destination country's rules on entry and quarantine; however, these are suggestions and not requirements.   

Comment from British Council International Education Services   

UK institutions working with Chinese partners or recruiting Chinese students should be aware of current study arrangements in the country. The situation is still evolving, and it is quite possible that semester start dates will be changed again soon. For TNE providers, close discussions with partners are encouraged to identify short term solutions including online delivery.  

Wider news:   

Last week China announced the postponement of the annual “Two Sessions” of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which were originally scheduled for early March. No new dates were announced. Whilst not directly effecting education this news highlights that China is continuing to take serious efforts to contain the virus.  

Sources   

1. Ministry of Education: Guiding opinions on dealing with the new coronavirus epidemic through the organization and management of online teaching in colleges and universities (in Chinese) - http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2020-02/05/content_5474733.htm   

Updated on 25 Feb: https://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2020-02/25/content_5482825.htm  

2. Ministry of Education: Ministry of Education to guide institutions on adjusting arrangements for postgraduate enrolment (in Chinese) - http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2020-02/03/content_5474334.htm         

3. China Scholarship Council: Notice on supporting the prevention and control measures of New Coronavirus (in Chinese)   

- https://www.csc.edu.cn/news/gonggao/1801  

Updated on 20 Feb: Notice on adjusting arrangement of several public-fund overseas programmes   

- https://www.csc.edu.cn/chuguo/s/1807  

4. China Daily: Students, scholars urged to postpone travel abroad due to virus - https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202001/29/WS5e30e7c5a310128217273894.html   

5. Tencent News: Summary of each province's arrangements for the 2020 spring semester (in Chinese) - http://view.inews.qq.com/k/20200212A06GMI00    

6. The National Education Examinations Authority: Notice on postponement of 3 examinations scheduled in March (in Chinese)  

- https://www.neea.edu.cn/html1/report/20021/5982-1.htm   

7. Xinhua News Agency: The Postponement of the Two Sessions  

- https://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-02/24/c_138814427.htm  

8. Sina – Guizhou and Qinghai provinces announce plan to stagger the reopening of schools   

- https://news.sina.cn/2020-03-02/detail-iimxxstf5662766.d.html?vt=4 

9. Beijing Daily: Tsinghua university allows online thesis defence, adds August graduation session (in Chinese) - http://bjrb.bjd.com.cn/html/2020-03/02/content_12449209.htm 

 

British Council offices and activities  

British Council offices in China have reopened.  

All British Council China on the ground education activity in March has been postponed, moved online or cancelled. Individual institutions affected have been contacted directly. 

Update on IELTS testing  

All IELTS and IELTS for UKVI tests are currently suspended until 1 April 2020.   

Transfers, deferrals and refunds are available as appropriate for affected test takers.  They can get further information by contacting their test centre by email. 

Many test takers in these locations will be delayed in sitting a test and subsequently sending their IELTS scores to institutions. We hope that schools, colleges, universities and other institutions understand that this delay will be through no fault of the candidate and hope that they will be able to extend the application process for these applicants.  

The British Council will recommence testing as soon as allowed by Chinese authorities and will focus operations on clearing the backlog in test takers.  

If your students have registered for an IELTS test and have any concerns or questions about the arrangements for their test, please advise them to email their test centre directly.  

Market support  

We are currently exploring alternative marketing and student recruitment solutions for UK institutions where on-the-ground activities in China have been affected by the outbreak.  

If you are interested in alternative solutions or you require any support for your activities in China at this time, please contact IES.China@britishcouncil.org.cn.  

Hong Kong  

Updated 28 February  

Local class suspension extended to April 20 at the earliest  

Kindergartens and Primary and Secondary Schools:  

The Hong Kong Education Bureau (EDB) has decided that schools in Hong Kong will continue to suspend classes to 20 April the earliest until all conditions are improved and safe for all students to return to schools. Previously, students were tentatively scheduled to return to school on 16 March, but EDB then further extended that to April, after the Easter holiday.   

Many schools in Hong Kong have already switched to online learning and lessons by conference call, with assignments given out on a daily or weekly basis’, reported by Reuters. Given the fact that the exact date of class resumptions remains uncertain, the Secretary for Education said EDB would consider rescheduling this semester’s school calendar to help students make up the teaching contact hours that they missed since early February. This implicates that students may need to take extra lessons over the summer.    

In terms of this year’s HKDSE exam, EDB has announced that the written examinations will go ahead as planned, starting from 27 March. The release of results for the 2020 HKDSE will be deferred by a week, from 8 July to 15 July (tentative) 

Sources:   
SED's opening remarks at press conference, EDB, 25.02.2020  

https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202002/25/P2020022500760.htm?fontSize=1  

Coronavirus: Hong Kong school closures extended to April 20 at the earliest   
https://https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3052199/coronavirus-hong-kong-school-closures-extend-beyond-easter 

     

Local universities   

• University of Hong Kong - all classes are schedule to resume from 30 March to 16 May  

• Hong Kong University of Sciences and Technology - online courses started on 19 February, all face-to-face classes are suspended until further notice 

• Chinese University of Hong Kong – online courses started on 17 February, all face-to-face classes are suspended until further notice    

• The Hong Kong Polytechnic University - all classes are suspended until 01 March (inclusive)  

• City University of Hong Kong – all face-to-face classes are suspended until further notice  

• Hong Kong Baptist University- all face-to-face classes are suspended until further notice.   

• The Open University of Hong Kong - all face-to-face classes are suspended until 31 March  

• Hang Seng University of Hong Kong - offices are closed until 01 March   

• Vocational Training Council - all face-to-face classes are suspended until 16 March   
    
  Note:   
  (1) Local universities have advised their staff members to work from home to ensure their business operation remains as usual.  
  (2) The rest of universities did not make a public announcement regarding arrangements on deferral of class resumptions on the websites. Institutions who wish to contact those who did not list here. Please contact the Hong Kong team for further information.   

Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) Contingency Measures for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE)  

EDB has announced that the written examinations will go ahead as planned, starting from 27 March. The release of results for the 2020 HKDSE will be deferred by a week, from 8 July to 15 July (tentative). Please refer to the HKEAA’s press release here - http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/DocLibrary/MainNews/PR_HKDSE_eng.pdf 

IB extends submission deadlines of eCoursework for students in coronavirus-affected areas  

The International Baccalaureate (IB) announced some coursework deadline extensions for Hong Kong students enrolled in the diploma programme on 25 February, in response to ongoing school closures. Students are given 4 weeks of extension to submit their coursework. The new dates are 12 April, 20 May and 03 July. This also applies to IB students from China, Macau, Mongolia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Northern Italy, Iran and South Korea. According to Young Post, as of 27 February afternoon, local schools who offer IB curriculum in Hong Kong have decided not to defer assessment deadline.  

Source: IB extends some coursework deadlines for students in coronavirus-hit areas, but Hong Kong schools don't budge, Young Post by South Morning China Post: https://yp.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/115776/ib-extends-some-coursework-deadlines-students-coronavirus-hit-areas 

 
 British Council Operations   

The British Council office in Hong Kong reopened on Monday 02 March. From Thursday 05 March, the Hong Kong office would resume some paper-based IELTS tests, with special precautionary measures in place. All customers and visitors will be temperature-checked on arrival and need to fill in a self-declaration form. For the most up-to-date information on our services, please visit our website: www.britishcouncil.hk/en/novel-coronavirus-update.  

Partial cross-border closure between Hong Kong and Mainland China  

The Government inserted a series of border restrictions effective from 03 February 2020. Please be aware of these restrictions if travelling from Mainland China and also that a manditory 14 day quarantine has been imposed. For travel advice please refer to the FCO, as per the top of this post.  

Starting from Saturday 01 February, Hong Kong International Airport will implement body temperature checks for both departing and transit passengers. No boarding will be allowed for passengers with fever.   

Sources:   

• Hong Kong announces new border closures, as China's coronavirus death toll overtakes SARS, CNN  

• Press release: Government enhances disease prevention and control measures with reference to WHO's advice, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)  

• Centre for Health Protection (CHP), HKSAR  

Press release: Government to impose mandatory quarantine on people entering Hong Kong from Mainland China 
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202002/05/P2020020500793.htm  

Macau 

Schools and Higher Education institutions in Macau are currently closed, The date of class resumption is yet to be announced. 

 

Contact: Anna Lee anna.lee@britishcouncil.org.hk or Karen Hsu  karen.hsu@britishcouncil.org.hk  

  

Japan  

Updated 28 February  

Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan  

According to the World Health Organisation, as of 27th February the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases was 186. A further 705 cases have been confirmed among passengers of the Diamond Princess cruise ship currently moored in Yokohama port.  https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200227-sitrep-38-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=9f98940c_2 

Public Events 

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare have advised anyone organising large indoor events between now and the 15th March, defined in Tokyo as events with more than 500 people, to cancel or postpone. Many organisations are cancelling events taking place in March and April.  

Schools and Universities    

On the 27th of February Prime Minister Abe has all elementary, middle and high schools to close from Monday 2nd of March until the end of their spring vacations. 

Study UK Spring Fair Japan 2020 

In light of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, regrettably, the British Council has decided to cancel the Study UK Spring Fair Japan 2020 scheduled for 30 March 2020 in Tokyo.   

We are keen to support your continued engagement with Japan and are exploring alternative ways to profile institutions and to help you connect with prospective students and their families. We will be in touch with further details in the coming weeks.  

Contact : Hal Parker, Education Services Manager, British Council Japan - hal.parker@britishcouncil.or.jp  

  

Indonesia 

Updated 3 March  

On 2 March, the Indonesia government confirmed two cases of COVID-19 in the country. Both are currently being treated in hospital. The government has re-iterated the preparations in place to tackle the virus and impacted patients. These include special hospitals and treatment centres. 

Sources: 

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/03/02/breaking-jokowi-announces-indonesias-first-two-confirmed-covid-19-cases.html 

https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2020/03/570897/indonesia-confirms-first-covid-19-cases 

While the Indonesian  government continues with the Green status, several organisations are taking precautionary steps that include checking of temperature, monitoring and upgrading health and safety procedures.  

Schools and Universities 

Education institutions are currently open, and classes are on-going.  

University of Indonesia is hosting a study and career fair scheduled between 5 to 7 March and the event is going ahead as per plan and no changes were reported in the status till this update. 

A few schools have taken the precautionary measures of checking temperature for all visitors to selected campuses, though there is no such instruction from the Ministry of Health. 

Public Events 

There are informal reports of certain events being cancelled. These include concerts and a media and marketing forum arranged by industry.  

British Council Activity 

British Council Study UK Fair and Career Day is being held on 7 March 2020 as per plan.  

British Council Indonesia continues to monitor the situation and will keep all partners and stakeholders informed of any change in any plan.  

Contact: Saman Imtiaz, saman.imtiaz@britishcouncil.org.my  

 

Malaysia  

Updated 3 March 

The number of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia have been controlled with a successful high treatment rate. However, Malaysia recorded largest single-day increase in Covid-19 cases with 7 new cases in one day, with the total now reaching 36. Of this, 22 cases (61.1 percent) have recovered. Fourteen are currently being treated.  

Source: https://m.malaysiakini.com/news/513066? 

Public Events 

The Ministry of Health’s advisory for Malaysia has not changed and we continue to see events and activities going ahead in different cities across Malaysia. 

Schools and Universities 

Most schools are still accepting visitors, with some schools implemented extra precaution measurement by having visitors to fill in a declaration form that they have not been travelling to high risk countries 

Some educational institutions have taken precautionary measures such as cancellation or reduction of activities on campus. There are also informal reports of some schools having changed venues for their activities, holding activities at external venues rather than campuses to avoid large groups on campus premises.  

Various education events continue across Kuala Lumpur and other cities – these include several education fairs and activities by different organisers.  

British Council Activities 

British Council Study UK Fair and Career Day is going ahead as per plan and is scheduled for 22 March 2020. 

British Council TNE Forum scheduled for early March is now postponed.  

The Higher Education Partnership forum – will now be held online/webinar  

The British Council office is open, with business as usual on a day to day basis. 

Johor state  

• Johor Bahru cancelled all state organised events for the month of February  

• Private organisers of large-scale events have been advised to cancel events where mass crowds are expected  

• Johor government has advised event organisers to postpone mass religious and cultural events  

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/wuhan-virus-outbreak-johor-to-suspend-all-mass-gathering-events-12397508  

Contact: Saman Imtiaz, saman.imtiaz@britishcouncil.org.my  

 

 Singapore 

Updated 14 February  

On 7 February, the Ministry of Health in Singapore increased the alert status to Amber. This requires event organisers to postpone or cancel non-essential large-scale events. Based on this update from the Ministry of Health (www.moh.gov.sg) we have postponed the Study UK Fair and Schools Roadshow 2020 till further notice.  

Source: https://www.moh.gov.sg/news-highlights/details/risk-assessment-raised-to-dorscon-orange  

The Singapore government has announced precautionary measures to fight the spread of the virus. The measures include cancelling mass assemblies in schools and suspending excursions. In practical terms this has meant that university visits to meet students, and schools promoting student recruitment events to their student body is not viable at present.  

Source - https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/wuhan-coronavirus-cancellation-school-assemblies-field-trips-and-communal-activities-among-new-measures?cid=emarsys-today_TODAY%27s%20morning%20briefing%20for%20Feb%205,%202020%20%28ACTIVE%29_newsletter_05022020_today  

Contact: Saman Imtiaz, saman.imtiaz@britishcouncil.org.my  

  

South Korea 

Updated on 2 March  

South Korea has 4,212 cases, 31 released cases from quarantine, and 22 death as of 5p.m., 2 March. The country's alert level for COVID-19 has been raised to Red, its highest on 23 February. 

Covid-19 is spreading quickly from two clusters of infections — a branch of a religious sect in the Southeastern city of Daegu and a hospital in its neighboring county of Cheongdo — taking up more than half of the total cases in the country. Daegu and Cheongdo were designated as “special care zones” on 21 February while the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MoHW) are focusing on eradicating the virus within Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province. 

Schools and Universities 

As a preventive measure against the spread of the virus, all schools across the nation are ordered to postpone the spring semester openings to March 23. The public, religious groups, and civic organisations are also advised to refrain from engaging in collective events for public safety. 

The government has already advised local universities to postpone the new academic year by up to four weeks, with most universities taking part in the plan. The Ministry of Education reported that 255 out of 384 universities (66.4%) had postponed the start of their spring semester as of 14 February. 

Sources: 

Ministry of Health and Welfare (MoHW) http://ncov.mohw.go.kr/index_main.jsp 

S. Korea to postpone new school year as coronavirus spikes - Korean Herald (23 February) http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200223000311&ACE_SEARCH=1 

Contact: Heather Eom  sunhyun.eom@britishcouncil.org.kr 

  

Taiwan 

Updated 27 February  

There are current eighteen cases confirmed of the Coronavirus in Taiwan, all are imported or close contact cases. There have been no community outbreaks. For information on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Taiwan, please visit the Taiwan Centres for Disease Control website at www.cdc.gov.tw/En  

Schools and Universities  

The Taiwan Ministry of Education announced on 3 February that the dates of new terms are 25 Feb for Secondary schools and 2 March for most University level to start the new term.    

School events and assemblies are taking place as usual. 

For public events and gatherings for schools and universities, some are cancelled while some are continuing as normal, so we recommend checking with individual organisers. A couple of examples are as follows:  

Event name	Org	Original timeline	Situation
Studyworld fair	Agent - UKEAS	6-10 March	Cancelled
Overseas Education Expo Taipei	Agent – Oh Study	7- 11 March	Going ahead
International Education Fair	Agent - IDP	13 – 15 March	Going ahead

 

Contact: Diane Hsu, diane.hsu@britishcouncil.org.tw  

  

Thailand   

Updated 14 February   

The number of local novel coronavirus patients remained at 33 on Friday 14 February 2020. 13 of them had fully recovered and been discharged and 20 were still in hospitals, according to the Disease Control Department. the local authority link is https://ddc.moph.go.th/viralpneumonia/eng/index.php   

Thai government response  

Surveillance and preparedness to respond to emerging infectious diseases have been enhanced in the government and private hospitals, and areas of tourist attractions.   

Schools, universities and public events   

At present schools and universities are open as normal, and public events are generally going ahead.   

British Council operations  

The operation of British Council in Thailand in their 6 centres (5 in Bangkok and 1 in Chiang Mai) remains business as usual. English classes and IELTS and other Exams, as well as events with the public, remain unchanged.   

Contact: Uraiwan Samolee, uraiwan.samolee@britishcouncil.or.th  

  

Vietnam  

Updated: 21 February 

According to the Ministry of Health, by 20th February, 15 out of 16 patients in Vietnam were successfully cured of the virus. The World Health Organisation lauded the efforts that Vietnam has made to respond to the novel coronavirus outbreak. 

School Closures  

As many as 56 out of 63 cities and provinces nationwide decided to close schools until the end of February. 

The southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City plans to close schools until the end of March.   

The Minister of Education and Training on February 14 proposed forced school break to be extended until the end of February. The ministry has also planned to stretch out the academic year to ensure the teaching program. Meanwhile, several schools have launched online teaching to ensure the progress of the curriculum. 

Source:  

https://vietnamnet.vn/en/society/vietnam-lengthens-school-closure-to-prevent-covid-19-spread-617440.html 

Contact: Lien Ta, lien.ta@britishcouncil.org.vn