Interview: British Minister on Sino-British Education Cooperation

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, April 16, 2002

Interview: British Minister on Sino-British Education Cooperation

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Britain's Higher Education Minister Margaret Hodge has said Britain's collaboration with China in education was wide-ranging, deep and long-term, and both countries have a lot to learn from each other in developing their education systems to produce citizens who are able to take a lead in the global knowledge economy of the 21st century.

In a written interview with Xinhua, Hodge said the British and Chinese governments have achieved considerable success in education cooperation. In recent years, cooperation has been basedon an education framework agreement, signed in June 2000.

The agreement covers cooperation over a number of areas, including lifelong learning, the use of information and communication technology in education, basic education, recognition of degrees and qualifications, vocational education, higher education and English and Chinese languages, she added.

In partnership, she said, the British Council, BBC and China Central Radio and Television University have established an English language learning website "www.in2english.com.cn" to meet the rising demand for English in China.

In the meantime, Britain is also promoting the teaching of Chinese in UK schools and this year for the first time to have Chinese language teaching assistants working in UK schools teaching Chinese, she said.

"We are also providing additional funding to Britain's higher education institutions to promote the development of their China studies programs," Hodge said. "For our relations to continue to flourish, it is important that we broaden and deepen our society'sawareness of China, its language and its culture."

Commenting on an increasing number of Chinese students studyingin Britain, Hodge said Britain boasts a reputation for high-quality education, training and research, backed by a strong quality assurance system. International students benefit from internationally recognized qualifications and a deep educational, social and cultural experience.

"In the longer term, there are mutual benefits to the UK and China through increased understanding of each other's culture and countries, leading to the development of scientific and cultural collaboration, and industry and trade links," she added.

To attract more international students, she said, Britain is offering more Chevening scholarships to enable talented graduates and young professionals to become familiar with the UK and gain skills, which will benefit their countries.

"Britain has its biggest and fastest growing Chevening programsin China, with almost 200 scholarships on offer this year," the British minister said.

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