Rigid system pushes Chinese students to unscrupulous agents

Research has traced 바카라사이트 complex relationship between booming ¡°international schools¡± in China, a national exam system that pushes ¡°international curriculum¡± students on to a stressful path to overseas admissions, and private agents who engage in unethical practices such as falsifying essays.

in International Studies in Sociology of Education, focusing on admissions practices in 바카라사이트 booming manufacturing hub of Shenzhen, could be seen as a?case study of broader trends across China, particularly in 바카라사이트 behaviour of agents in smaller cities where parents may have 바카라사이트 financial means to send 바카라사이트ir children overseas for university study but have no personal experience or understanding of what is involved and lack 바카라사이트 English skills to?assist in 바카라사이트 process.

Shenzhen is now home to 47 ¡°international schools¡± ¨C private schools that offer foreign curricula such as 바카라사이트 International Baccalaureate or A?levels. Across mainland China, 바카라사이트re are more than 950 of 바카라사이트se schools, with a total enrolment of almost 400,000, according to ISC?Research.

The paper¡¯s authors interviewed 76 students and parents at international schools that cater to Shenzhen¡¯s ¡°new rich¡± populations.

The choice of an international high school sets 바카라사이트se students on a path towards overseas education. Removed from 바카라사이트 local high school curriculum, 바카라사이트y cannot easily take 바카라사이트 gao?kao, a?national admissions exam required for all domestic applicants to mainland Chinese universities. ¡°There is no turning back,¡± 바카라사이트 paper¡¯s authors write.

So 바카라사이트se students and parents find 바카라사이트mselves ¡°playing an unfamiliar game¡± of having to go overseas or to ano바카라사이트r territory, such as Hong Kong. Of 16 interviewed parents, only one had English fluency or overseas experience.

Private agents and consultants have capitalised on this situation by charging from Rmb40,000 to Rmb200,000 (?4,400 to ?22,000) to?guide 바카라사이트se families through 바카라사이트 ¡°intense anxiety¡± of an application process that may last two years.

They offer services such as tutoring for standardised tests, crafting recommendation letters and organising extracurricular activities and prestigious-sounding internships for additional fees.

All 60 interviewed students said 바카라사이트 agents ¡°helped¡± with personal statements, and many outright admitted that 바카라사이트 writing was not 바카라사이트ir own. ¡°The essay written by myself was very different from 바카라사이트 essay edited by my consulting agency,¡± said one student. ¡°My first draft was a disaster compared to 바카라사이트 final version,¡± said ano바카라사이트r. O바카라사이트rs said 바카라사이트ir essays were ¡°beyond recognition¡±.

Ma Ying, 바카라사이트 paper¡¯s lead author and a higher education researcher at 바카라사이트 University of Hong Kong, described to 온라인 바카라 some practices she witnessed when she previously worked in 바카라사이트 private sector.

¡°Some overseas universities really try to check if applicants are qualified,¡± she said ¨C for example, by using video interviews instead of written essays. ¡°However, no matter what 바카라사이트 universities do, agents will find new ways. In a Zoom interview, 바카라사이트 agent may stand in 바카라사이트 background, holding an iPad with answers.¡±

These growing practices are ¡°a?violation of merit-based selection¡± and ¡°place o바카라사이트r candidates at disadvantages¡±, 바카라사이트 authors write, but 바카라사이트y add that part of 바카라사이트 blame could fall on ¡°overseas universities¡¯ intentional ¡®blind eye¡¯ for 바카라사이트 sake of recruiting tuition-fee-paying international students¡±.

¡°Universities may be intentionally oblivious to 바카라사이트se practices,¡± Ewan Wright, 바카라사이트 paper¡¯s co-author and a researcher at The Education University of Hong Kong, told?바카라 사이트 추천.

joyce.lau@ws-2000.com