¶ … Chinese parents send their children abroad for education
Dismayed by the Chinese national exam that is very competitive and does not guarantee admission into universities, many Chinese parents have started to send their children to study abroad for a better future.
Every year, China holds a two-day national exam at a high school level, which decides the future of the children. Many students spend their entire high school preparing for this extremely important exam as it is the sole determinant for their admission in Chinese universities. If they do well in that exam then they can easily get admission in a prestigious university, but if they fail to do well in the exam, then they might not get admission anywhere in China.
Consequently, this puts a lot of pressure on high school students as their academic future depends on performing well in the national exam. Moreover, parents want their children to pass the national exam because it is a matter of pride for them. This exam has also been criticized by the parents for suppressing the creativity in the students. Hence, in order to overcome these challenges, many parents take steps such as sending their children abroad at a young age.
"I don't want my children to undergo this pressure as it's a catastrophe for both of their physical and mental health," said Mrs. Guo, whose daughter is studying in the American high school.
Sending children abroad to study has now becoming a growing trend among the Chinese parents. There are around 340,000 Chinese students that are currently studying abroad and the figures show an estimated rise of 55,000 students this year i.e. 20% increase in the students, according to the Chinese Ministry of Education.
Mrs. Guo also became attracted to this trend when one of her friends sent her child to study in the high school in U.S. According to Mrs. Guo, her friend's son was only an average student in...
She believes that the application procedure was much harder for a student studying at Chinese high school than for a student studying in American high school.
"Sending my daughter to U.S. is a two win decision. In this way, she can avoid the Chinese national exam and can also increase her chances of getting admission to into highly ranked American university," Mrs. Guo said, who is also planning to send her daughter abroad to study. "So why should I let my daughter take national exam and compete with millions of students."
Furthermore, it has also been noted that many parents who see the success of others' children start believing that their child's success also depends on his studying abroad rather than on his own ability. They believe that the earlier the child gets a chance to go abroad, the easier it is for him to get accustomed to foreign environment. Moreover, parents believe that sending their children to private high school will increase their chance of getting admission in an American university.
Mr. Chen, whose son is currently studying in University of Yale, shares the same thoughts as that of Mrs. Guo. He believes that his child was just an average student when he was studying in China.
"We always heard complaints from the teachers when he was studying in China. They were always telling us about his bad performance at school. We lost the confidence that he will pass the national exam so we decided to send him abroad," Mr. Chen said.
"But now he has progressed a lot in his studies after studying abroad," he added. "He is now in the sophomore year of middle school and has been performing well in his class. I think he was more suitable for the western education system."
Many Chinese parents have high expectations from the Western education system…
