BEIJING: From hiring ghostwriters and forging sports credentials to generous 'gift-giving', admissions middlemen in China are advising wealthy parents to take an array of 'shortcuts' to secure places at foreign universities.
Six current and former employees of admissions agencies told AFP they suggested parents"find shortcuts" to circumvent the traditional process."I have done things I am not proud of including coaching parents on how to embellish transcripts or fake sports credentials. I have received mangled essays, which are then heavily edited by professionals," one advisor confessed.
Chinese students wanting to study abroad take a risk by skipping the gaokao, the country's notoriously difficult college entrance test, which is the only route to Chinese universities. This gives them time to prepare for a completely different set of standardised tests. The country's foreign college admission services industry is expected to grow to US$35 billion by 2021 from US$28 billion in 2017, according to a February report by the state-backed Chinese Students and Scholars Association.As incomes rise, even parents in smaller towns were aspiring for a world-class education for their children, instead of the rigid, rote learning at local universities, the report said.
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Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »