Chinanews, Kunming, Dec. 7 – He Tianchun, head of the Education Department of Yunnan Province said on Tuesday that nearly 70 percent，or more than 2,800, of foreign students in Yunnan, are from ASEAN countries. He believes Yunnan’s geographical position and local colleges and universities’ favorable policies to foreign students, will prompt more and more students from ASEAN countries will choose to study there.

 

He revealed to our reporter that among 4,596 foreign students enrolled by 16 colleges and universities in Yunnan, more than 65 percent of them are from GMS countries (namely the 5 Greater Mekong Subregion nations Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia), nearly 1,000 being from Vietnam.

 

He said that Honghe College and many other professional training schools in Yunnan also endeavored to enroll more foreign students. He indicated that the local government would set up new scholarships for students from ASEAN countries, in hopes of helping to cultivate more professional personnel for the surrounding nations. The total amount of scholarships will also increase from 1.8 million yuan (US$230 thousand) to 7.2 million yuan ($920 thousand) in the next two years.