中国留学生弃美赴英？英国高校态度耐人寻味 2023.02.

01 李婷婷 CSE9

【课程导读】又到一年 offer 季！英美一直都是中国留学大热门，但随着近几年

美国不断释放不利信号，再加上安全问题的顾虑，越来越多中国家庭会把英国
作为留学首选。与此同时，英国高校却另有一番打算。为缓解疫情带来的财政
危机，许多大学开始提供各种福利政策来吸引其他国家的留学生，扩大生源。
目前英国留学形势如何？英国高校为吸金采取了怎样的措施？一起来听今天的
讲解。

UK universities target overseas students from outside China

英国高校将目标对准中国以外的留学生
By Bethan Staton and Yuan Yang

UK universities are seeking to attract more overseas students from outside China
owing to concerns over political tensions and a heavy reliance on this market for
income.
由于担心政治局势紧张和收入过度依赖中国市场，英国高校正寻求从中国以外
的国家吸引更多留学生。

The number of students from India coming to Britain overtook those from China for
the first time last year, according to Home Office figures.
根据英国内政部的数据，去年赴英留学的印度学生人数首次超过中国学生。

The shift reflects the drive among institutions to "diversify" intake as they look to
shore up their finances with high-fee paying international recruits, while protecting
against geopolitical shifts that could limit access to China.
这种转变反映出英国高校正努力让招生“多元化”，通过招收支付更高学费的留
学生，来改善财务状况，同时防范官方可能会限制其与中国接触的地缘政治变
化。

According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, China has constituted the
biggest international student group since 2002-03.
根据英国高等教育统计局的数据，自 2002-2003 年以来，中国留学生一直是英
国最大的留学生群体。

Eight years after former chancellor George Osborne praised the role of Chinese
students in a "golden decade" of Sino-British relations, that enthusiasm is faltering.
英国前财政大臣乔治·奥斯本（George Osborne）曾指出中国留学生在中英关系
“黄金十年”中发挥的积极作用。八年后的今天，这种热情正在减弱。

The Covid-19 pandemic, meanwhile, reminded universities that student migration

could be disrupted.
与此同时，新冠疫情让各高校意识到，留学生生源存在中断的风险。

These concerns are now being reflected in recruitment. According to Universities UK,
China was the top market for arriving postgraduates at 55 per cent of universities in
2017-18, but this fell to 35 per cent in 2020-21.
这些担忧如今都反映在了招生之中。根据英国大学联盟的数据，在 2017-2018
年，中国是英国大学研究生新生的最大生源地，占比高达 55%，但这一数字在
2020-2021 年降至 35%。

Julian Fisher, founder of Beijing-based consultancy Venture Education, said that

tighter rules in China on overseas study and rising tensions between London and
Beijing, meant the UK-China university market could be "nearing the apex".
总部位于北京的教育咨询公司“问创”（Venture Capital）创始人朱利安·费舍尔（
Julian Fisher）表示，中国收紧了出国留学政策，加上中英关系紧张加剧，这些
都意味着中国学生赴英留学的市场可能“即将触顶”。

Students mindful of global uncertainty and seeking the best offer were becoming
more likely to apply to several countries, he added. "They're hedging their bets and
also hedging shifts in geopolitics."
他补充说道，一些学生已经意识到全球的不确定性，并想从中寻求最佳机遇，
他们很有可能会同时申请多个国家的学校。“他们在多面下注以规避风险，也在
规避地缘政治所带来的变化。”

【生词好句】

1.target
英 [ˈtɑːɡɪt] 美 [ˈtɑːrɡɪt]
n. 靶心，目标；v. 把目标对准某个群体

2.owe to
归因于……
拓展:
owing to concerns over something 归因于关于某些事情的担忧
He owes his success to hard work.
他的成功是靠勤奋工作。

3.reliance
英 [rɪˈlaɪəns] 美 [rɪˈlaɪəns]
n. 依赖，依靠
拓展:
rely v. 依赖，依靠
reliance on/upon something 依赖于......
the country's reliance on imported gas 该国对进口天然气的依赖
a heavy reliance on local talent 严重依赖本土人才

4.overtake
英 [ˌəʊvəˈteɪk] 美 [ˌoʊvərˈteɪk]
v. （数量或重要性方面）超过
拓展:
Nuclear energy may overtake oil as the main fuel.
核能可能会超过石油成为主要燃料。
5.drive
英 [draɪv] 美 [draɪv]
n. （有组织的、有目的的）努力
拓展:
a recruitment drive for new members 招募新成员的活动
a nationwide drive to crack down on crime 全国范围内打击犯罪的行动

6.intake
英 [ˈɪnteɪk] 美 [ˈɪnteɪk]
n.（一定时期内纳入的）招生人数
拓展:
the annual student intake 每年招收的新生人数

7.shore (something) up
支撑，稳住，改善
拓展:
shore n.（海湖之类的）岸，滨
Timbers were used to shore up the tunnel.
木材被用来加固隧道。
They tried to shore up the failing economy by means of tax increases.
他们试图通过增加税收来支撑衰退的经济。

8.recruit
英 [rɪˈkruːt] 美 [rɪˈkruːt]
v. 招募新成员；n. 新成员
拓展:
They recruited several new members to the club.
他们吸收了几名新成员进入俱乐部。

9.access
英 [ˈækses] 美 [ˈækses]
n. 接近，接触；通道，通路；使用机会，使用权
拓展:
have access to something
拥有某物的使用权
Students must have access to good resources.
学生必须有机会使用好的资源。
access to somebody 接触某人的机会、权利
He was not allowed access to a lawyer.
他未被允许接触律师。

10.constitute
英 [ˈkɒnstɪtʃuːt] 美 [ˈkɑːnstətuːt]
v. 组成，构成（make up）
拓展:
Female workers constitute the majority of the labour force.
女性雇员占劳动力的多数。
A whole consists of parts, the parts constitute the whole.
整体由部分组成，部分构成整体。

11.falter
英 [ˈfɒltə] 美 [ˈfɑːltər]
v. 衰弱，衰退
拓展:
The economy shows no signs of faltering.
经济没有衰退的迹象。

12.migration
英 [maɪˈɡreɪʃn] 美 [maɪˈɡreɪʃn]
n. 迁移，迁徙
拓展:
seasonal migration 季节性迁徙
mass migrations 大规模的迁移

13.arriving postgraduates
刚入学的研究生们

14.apex
英 [ˈeɪpeks] 美 [ˈeɪpeks]
n. 尖端，顶点
拓展:
the apex of the roof 屋顶的最高点
at the apex of one's career 某人处于事业的巅峰

15.mindful
英 [ˈmaɪndfl] 美 [ˈmaɪndfl]
adj. 想着的，考虑的
拓展:
mindful of something 考虑到......
Mindful of the poor road conditions, she drove slowly.
考虑到路况不好，她开车开得很慢。

16.hedge
英 [hedʒ] 美 [hedʒ]
n. （围起来的）树篱，篱笆；v. 规避，躲避
拓展:
hedge fund 对冲基金（为了规避和化解投资风险，采用对冲交易手段的基金）
hedge your bets （为避免损失）几面下注，两头押宝
hedge something 规避、化解某事

【外刊原文】
UK universities target overseas students from outside China
 By Bethan Staton and Yuan Yang
@The Financial Times

UK universities are seeking to attract more overseas students from outside China
owing to concerns over political tensions and a heavy reliance on this market for
income.

The number of students from India coming to Britain overtook those from China for
the first time last year, according to Home Office figures.

Data showed that 127,731 student visas were issued to Indian nationals for the year
ending in September 2022, compared with 116,476 to those from China who have
long represented the biggest group of international recruits.

The shift reflects the drive among institutions to "diversify" intake as they look to
shore up their finances with high-fee paying international recruits, while protecting
against geopolitical shifts that could limit access to China.

"There is absolutely an explicit effort to diversify," said Vivienne Stern, head of sector
body Universities UK.

"In terms of risk you do not want to be overexposed to fluctuations in any one
country . . . I haven"t spoken to a single university that doesn"t have a strategy for
diversification," she added.

UK visas issued to Chinese students fell 2 per cent in the year to September compared
with 2019. During the same period, those for Indian citizens increased 273 per cent
and for Nigeria by 650 per cent.

In the past decade, a freeze on tuition fees for UK students has constrained funding
for English universities, prompting them to attract international undergraduates who
pay more than their domestic counterparts.

When a government target to increase the number of international students enrolled in

UK universities to 600,000 by 2030 was met a decade early, in 2020-21, about a
quarter were from China.

According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, China has constituted the
biggest international student group since 2002-03.

Eight years after former chancellor George Osborne praised the role of Chinese
students in a "golden decade" of Sino-British relations, that enthusiasm is faltering.

The Covid-19 pandemic, meanwhile, reminded universities that student migration

could be disrupted.

These concerns are now being reflected in recruitment. According to Universities UK,
China was the top market for arriving postgraduates at 55 per cent of universities in
2017-18, but this fell to 35 per cent in 2020-21.
During the same period, the proportion of institutions with India as their top market
increased from 15 per cent to 46 per cent.

Paul Inman, an international education consultant formerly at the University of

Reading, said universities were not reducing overall international recruitment for
"obvious reasons" but were looking to draw interest from outside China.

"Most of the strategising is how you can replace those students [from China]," said
Inman, adding that South Asia was now a key market. The reintroduction of two-year
post-study work visas, announced by the UK government in 2019, has also boosted
recruitment from Nigeria and India.

Students from these countries are more likely to enrol as postgraduates at universities
that charge lower fees, said Janet Ilieva, director of consultancy Education Insights.

Those from newer markets are more likely to bring family members. Home Office
figures show one-fifth of study visas were issued to dependants in the year to
September 2022, compared with 6 per cent in 2019.

Following concerns over net migration figures, Downing Street has said it would
consider restricting students" ability to bring dependants. However, in December
Susan Acland Hood, Department for Education permanent secretary, told MPs that
tighter rules would hit new markets but not Chinese students, who are less likely to
bring family.

The right to bring family members had helped universities avoid becoming
"overdependent on single places", she said.

Political tensions between China and the US and anti East Asian racism combined
with pandemic restrictions on travel has also led to a sharp drop in recruitment of
Chinese students in the US in the past two years.

One Chinese recruitment agent, who supports local students applying to overseas
universities, said some parents were watching UK-China relations closely. "They are
concerned that the UK might become like the US," they said, adding that while
demand had not dropped significantly, some students were applying to Singapore
instead of the UK.

Julian Fisher, founder of Beijing-based consultancy Venture Education, said that

tighter rules in China on overseas study and rising tensions between London and
Beijing, meant the UK-China university market could be "nearing the apex".

Students mindful of global uncertainty and seeking the best offer were becoming
more likely to apply to several countries, he added. "They"re hedging their bets and
also hedging shifts in geopolitics."

©The Financial Times Ltd 2023