The World as Classroom.docVIP

The World as Classroom 　　Today over 200,000 returned overseas students called “Hai Gui,” literally “sea turtle” in Chinese, have become the mainstay of China’s infrastructure across all fields and a driving force for the country’s economic and social development. The trend is an old one, just playing out fully now, and the reasons for going are as many as the students themselves. The stories of those who went abroad and returned have not all been tales of triumph, and even the successfully settled exports are following the deep currents home. 　　 　　IT was 11 years ago when Chen Bei, then a high school student in Henan, stood at one of life’s first crossroads. She, like several million other Chinese students, faced the annual “Gaokao,” China’s college entrance exam. Although it is equivalent to the SAT in the U.S. or the “A” levels in the U.K., it is considerably longer and more intimidating. Young students in China face intense competition and pressure. Only those in the top percentiles specified will have a chance at China’s best universities. For Chinese parents, education has always been a top priority, but in a country of 1.3 billion, it can be tough to get the advantage. This leaves many worried parents and students to search for alternatives to a Chinese education. One “Plan B” becoming more popular is looking abroad for viable options. 　　 　　The Foreign Welcome Mat 　　 　　The late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping recognized the value of an overseas education. He himself had gone off to France at the age of 16 to spend five years there studying and working. Although he struggled to survive there on his limited funds like many students now, it was a life-changing experience. These years fortified him with an understanding of the world that proved important in his set of leadership skills. This became evident in his instructions to the Ministry of Education in June 1978, stressing that China should expand its academic communication with foreign countries. He