The 2015-2016 academic year will not see any new international classes in public high schools in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou. The Municipal Education Commissions in Shanghai and Guangzhou announced earlier in 2015 that they were no longer granting approval for public schools to operate international classes, while the Beijing Municipal Education Commission stopped approving these classes in 2014. The Ministry of Education is currently drafting guidance to “tighten” the booming number of international classes, which is expected to be announced later in 2015, while Shanghai had previously attempted to limit this sector by preventing public schools from charging additional fees for students enrolled in international classes.

International classes teach overseas curriculums such as A-level, IB or AP, but are different from international schools in that they operate as part of a regular public high school. They are attractive to students and parents as they prepare students to enter overseas universities directly rather than having to study a foundation year, as well as allowing them to avoid China’s high-pressure gaokao university entrance exam. Almost all graduates from these classes go abroad for their university education.

International classes are a major source of Chinese students to overseas universities, with recent research from education agency New Oriental showing that 18 per cent of Chinese students who planned to go overseas for undergraduate study attended international classes at public high schools. Their popularity has increased dramatically over the last decade, with 338 senior high schools offering an international curriculum in 2013 compared to just 22 in 2001. 22 of Beijing’s public senior high schools have international classes, recruiting 1,355 students in total, while 24 out of 51 top-tier high schools in Shanghai have set up international classes.

Restrictions on new international classes do not apply to private schools or training institutes. Both public and private schools’ international classes usually recruit Chinese students at the age of 15, as students are legally required to follow the Chinese curriculum until they finish compulsory lower secondary education.

Analysis by Liu Xiaoxiao, Education Services Manager and Kevin Prest, Senior Analyst:

One of the main reasons for recent restrictions on international classes is concern over the use of public resources. Students in these classes pay higher fees but are taught in publicly-funded schools by teachers paid with taxpayers’ money. There are concerns that these classes are given the best teaching resources and equipment, negatively affecting students studying the regular Chinese curriculum. At the same time, the purpose of these classes is generally to prepare students for studying abroad rather than to improve the quality of Chinese education. These restrictions should not be interpreted as an attack on internationalisation in general - China still encourages the internationalism of its school system in terms of introducing high-quality resources from foreign countries.

As these restrictions are limited to classes in public high schools, one effect could be to shift demand for overseas secondary qualifications towards private schools, which are still able to expand their international offerings. China has an increasing number of domestically-operated international schools and international classes aimed at Chinese senior high school students, as opposed to traditional international schools which enrol foreign passport holders at both primary and secondary level.

Despite restrictions on growth in major cities, international classes still enrol a significant number of students in China’s largest cities, and for the time being they are still continuing to expand in second and third-tier cities. International classes are still an attractive recruitment market for UK universities’ undergraduate courses, as almost all students in these classes are intending to study abroad.

Sources:
1. http://www.shedunews.com/zhaokao/zhongkaojiayou/zhongkaozixun/zixunsudi/...
2. http://news.sohu.com/20150604/n414428151.shtml
3. http://edu.people.com.cn/n/2015/0709/c1053-27276665.html
4. http://edu.163.com/15/0311/13/AKEA301N00294MBF_all.html
5. http://liuxue.xdf.cn/bj/zxdy/813198.shtml