Cooperation improved via education exchanges

Some of the top math teachers from China shared their skills in British primary schools for three weeks in November to help raise standards in the subject as the two countries continue to expand education cooperation, a senior Chinese diplomat said.

Shen Yang, minister counselor for education at the Chinese Embassy in Britain, said "it was the first time that Chinese teachers have been in schools across Britain to introduce Chinese-style math lessons and approaches - this embodies the new cooperation between the two countries".

In early 2015, another 34 math teachers from Shanghai will travel to Britain on a further phase of exchange that focuses on secondary math.

Shanghai students have been the top performers in the Program for International Student Assessment organized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

British School Reform Minister Nick Gibb said the exchange would set an example for the way that education systems around the world can learn from each other.

"This innovative exchange program enables our teachers to develop their professional skills working with those from the most successful math education system in the world," Gibb said.

More British schools are also incorporating Chinese into their foreign-language curriculums alongside traditional languages such as French and German.

"By the end of 2014, 25 Confucius Institutes and 101 Confucius Classrooms have been established in Britain, surpassing all other countries in Europe," Shen said.

He said more new students from China have enrolled at UK universities than in the rest of the entire EU.

The number of first-year Chinese students coming to the United Kingdom has increased by 59 percent since the 2009-10 academic year, rising from 36,950 to 58,810 new students, according to figures released by the Higher Educations Statistics Agency.

Other than the UK, 57,190 Chinese undergraduates are studying in Europe.

There is now a culture of studying abroad for Chinese students. They are often attracted to the UK because of its top universities, Shen said.

"A total of 150,000 Chinese students now study in Britain," he said.

While the number of British students who study in China is far less than that figure, the British government is encouraging more students to come to China.

Last year, Vince Cable, secretary of state for business, innovation and skills, urged business leaders to support Generation UK, the British Council's flagship outward student mobility program, which aims to see 80,000 UK students participate in academic study or work experience programs in China by 2020.

In a letter to CEOs at a range of leading UK companies, Cable called on leaders to support student mobility to China to give British young people the skills and experience they need to excel in a globalized labor market.

Around 5,400 UK students studied in China in 2013. The number has grown almost 65 percent from 2010.

Shen said the British government believes that more British young people have opportunities to gain greater exposure to and understanding of China, putting them in a more competitive position in the job market internationally.