Across The Border | Surging demand for bilingual education behind boom times for international schools in China
The country hosts the largest number of international schools in the world, and analysts say it will need at least 1,000 more in coming years
For a sign of how healthy the business of international education in China is, take a look at the share price of China Maple Leaf Educational Systems: it has more than doubled since its Hong Kong listing in November 2014 while the Hang Seng Index has lost 13 per cent in the same period.
Supported by strong demand from China’s growing number of middle-class families who want to prepare their children for overseas studies at prestigious universities, international education providers are seeing robust growth. Total revenue of all international schools operating in China grew at a compound rate of 23 per cent per year between 2009 and 2013, and amounted to 18.4 billion yuan (HK$21.7 billion) in 2013.
“Compared to switching directly from domestic non-international schools to overseas schools, students who attend an international school may find they experience a smoother transition to an overseas school, given their greater exposure to the English language and overseas education systems,” said Albert Yip, an analyst at GF Securities, in a research report.
The number of Chinese students studying overseas rose at a compound rate of 17.5 per cent a year between 2007 and 2015, and amounted to 523,700 students last year, GF said.
That will translate into strong demand for schools like those run by Maple Leaf, the only Hong Kong-listed operator of international schools in the mainland. Graduates from its high schools obtain both a graduation diploma from Canada’s British Columbia state and China’s national diploma, giving them an advantage in applying to schools overseas.