Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the international uncertainty and the rising tensions between the West and China, many Chinese students are reluctant to continue their education abroad.

The tendency for Chinese families to invest in international education of their children at any school level is now being reversed due to the economic and health uncertainty that the COVID-19 pandemic has provoked globally. Parents who have the financial resources to invest in their children’s education abroad now prefer to enrol their children in local schools or in countries in Asia, which are closer to their home countries. Studying locally is safer and more Chinese-friendly, say Chinese parents.

About 81 per cent of affluent Chinese families whose children study foreign curriculums and take foreign examinations have decided to postpone plans to send them abroad for undergraduate or graduate studies, according to a survey released last month by Babazhenbang, an education start-up with a database of more than 400 schools preparing Chinese students for overseas high schools and colleges.

Among 838 respondents, the survey found that worries about the pandemic (82.6 per cent) and possible discrimination due to political tensions (60.9 per cent) were the top reasons for the postponements, followed by personal financial difficulties (43.5 per cent) and the fading advantages for overseas-trained talent in the domestic job market (21.7 per cent).