Shenzhen planned to introduce two overseas universities to open branch schools to promote the globalization of education, according to a plan to be announced at a meeting on Sept.9 marking Teachers' Day.
The branch schools are to offer higher education and professional training, but when and which universities to be introduced had not been decided yet, the city s education bureau said.
According to the plan, Shenzhen will become a national model city to pilot the reform of education, and globalization is one of the most important factors in the plan.
Local schools are encouraged to hold more international exchange activities and cooperation with foreign schools and universities and become sister schools with schools in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, high schools are also encouraged to open international courses of all kinds to provide more advanced and flexible education resources and channels to help students enter foreign universities, the plan said.
According to the plan, higher vocational colleges can explore creating more channels for enrollment, such as holding their own examinations to enroll students with special talent or enrolling students recommended by schools. More education resources will also be given to Longgang, Bao an, Pingshan and Guangming to enhance education quality and upgrade facilities in the areas.
The city has 1,636 schools with about 1.26 million students and more than 70,000 teachers. Investment in education reached 17 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion) in 2009. The city has sent 680 teachers to train overseas since 2003 and number of teachers trained abroad reached more than 5000 as of this year, the bureau said.
