Shanghai has seen a decrease in the number of overseas students from 60,000 to 38,800 including those enrolled in universities studying degrees and non-degrees such as short-term language learning programs, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Huang Meixu, director of the Shanghai Institute of Higher Education for Foreign Students.
The decrease is "reasonable," Huang said, noting that for some overseas students, they probably would seek "a short-term program for language in China, however, they might give up on their plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic."
As a global financial hub, Shanghai has become one of the most popular studying destinations for overseas students. Despite the pandemic, the number of overseas students studying in Shanghai enrolled in degrees stood at 24,000, steadily accounting for around 60 percent of the total number of overseas students, Wu Yingjun, director of the international exchange office of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission.
One of the biggest challenges is that students can't go back to study, especially those students who will graduate, but they still need to take part in thesis practices to finish their study.