Rise in Chinese student numbers in the Netherlands
31 Aug 2009
In recent years, the Netherlands has made efforts to attract more foreign students, at the same time its immigration policy has been changed to increase the number of highly skilled professionals entering the country. Both these factors have seen the Netherlands become one of the most popular destinations for foreign students, naturally including the Chinese.By Tao Yue, Chinese Newsdesk
In spite of the world economic downturn that has hit China hard, the number of new Chinese students coming to Dutch universities has increased steadily over the past two years, bringing the total number to around 7000. For Chinese students, the most popular majors are those that can improve chances of employment, such as economics, finance, logistics and business studies, and also those subjects the Netherlands specialises in, such as agriculture, horticulture, environmental management and industrial design.
Increase
In
September 2008 about 2000 Chinese students came to the Netherlands, a
30 percent rise from the previous year. A similar increase is expected
this September, bringing the number of Chinese entering the Netherlands
to study to around 2600. Among these students, about 50 percent are
studying at Master’s level, 30 to 35 percent at Bachelor’s level and
15 percent are on preparation courses that will enable them to follow
an academic degree once they pass. Fee-paying students still vastly
outnumber exchange students.
Special visa and scholarships
Mr. Jacques van Vliet, the director of Nuffic Neso China, an affiliate of the Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education (NUFFIC),
told RNW what makes the Netherlands an attractive destination: “The
government issues a special visa enabling foreign students to stay for
another year after completing their studies to look for a job.” Lan
Zhang, a former Chinese student who now works at RNW, explains: “Once
you get a work contract, you can get a work visa for the duration of
your contract. As soon as you get a permanent work contract, you can
get a 5-year work visa, which entitles you to apply for a permanent
Dutch residence permit.”
Another important factor is that the
Dutch government has made special scholarships available for Chinese
students. “The Orange Tulip Scholarship”, Mr Van Vliet says, “started
in 2008. Every year 30 top Chinese students get scholarships either in
way of a tuition waiver or company fellowship”. Many well-known Dutch
companies, like KLM and HEMA, have offered sponsorships.
High tuition fees
Yang
Peng, the spokesman of the Chinese Student Association in the
Netherlands, disagrees with Mr Van Vliet. “Scholarships are rather
limited compared to huge tuition fee increases,” he says. “From 2007 to
2009, many universities have raised tuition fees by a third. At the
same time, accommodation is also becoming more expensive.” Although the
appreciation of the Chinese currency compensates somewhat, the overall
costs of studying in the Netherlands is higher. Yang expects that the
delay effect will become apparent in one or two years.
The
economic crisis has had not had much impact on the number of Chinese
studying abroad; on the contrary, numbers are up. According to the
Chinese government, the employment rate of recent Chinese graduates is
only about 30 percent, though many say this figure is over-optimistic.
To continue studying naturally becomes an important alternative for
many young Chinese. Studying in the Netherlands is obviously one of the
favourable options.
Source: Radio Netherlands Worldwide
http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/rise-chinese-student-numbers-netherlands