Science and trade boost African students enrollment in China

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Indian President Ram Nath Kovind, during his visit to Ethiopia on Friday said that education has been the fulcrum of engagement between the two countries. But the data suggests that the China is slowly becoming Africa's cradle for higher education.

According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, China is the second most popular country for African students. In the last decade, the number of students from African countries has grown from 2000 in 2003 to more than 50,000 in 2015. France is the most favored nation with 95,000 African students.

In India, around 15,000 African students are studying in various government and private colleges. According to the Annual Survey of International Students in India, there were only 5,880 African students enrolled for higher education in India on multiple scholarships. In 1995, around 4,081 such students were studying in the country on government-aided scholarships.

Around a few decades back, the center of academic collaboration between India and African countries was so strong that Ethiopia's first lady, and nine ministers holding essential portfolios today, attended colleges in India.

An advertisement to attract African students to study in China. /Borgen Project Photo

President Kovind was so impressed with this fact that he even tweeted: "Happy to learn First Lady of Ethiopia & at least 9 Ministers in the Cabinet are alumni of Indian universities #PresidentKovind"

Investment and science

Dr. Nivedita Ray, director of research at the Indian Council of World Affairs points out that African students enrollment in Chinese universities has spiraled in the recent years because of burgeoning Chinese investment in African nations.

Indian and Chinese companies have been vying for a more significant market share in Africa. However, China leads the race, as in the last two decades, trade between China and Africa has swelled to 200 billion US dollars every year. India has not been able to keep the pace, and its annual trade with Africa is around 75 billion US dollars.

To further boost the enrollment rate for African students, China has set up 30,000 scholarships for them by 2018.

Professor Ajay Dubey, Center for African Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) told CGTN one of the reasons behind massive enrollment rate in China is the course selection. There is a vast difference in the courses offered to African students in China and India.

“China offers African students courses in engineering, science, and management while India mainly offers courses in social sciences. Course selection is another reason for China becoming a preferred destination for African students,” he elaborated.

Racism in India and China

In the last few years, there has been a spurt in violent attacks on African students in India. Incidents include a Congolese national stoned to death, a group of people attacking African students in a subway, a minister leading a mob in an African community in South Delhi, two Nigerian and two Ugandan women, attacked on suspicion of running drug racket - all these incidents happened in India’s capital.

A welcome ceremony for Angola students of Jimei University- China Hyway International Class was grandly held in Xiamen, Fujian at 15:00, August 26th, 2014. /China Hyway Photo

Ajay Dubey points out that these attacks showcase the gap between societal interactions in India with African students. "Student to student interaction can be a part of campus life but it also needs to extend beyond the boundaries of the college," he says.

"Negative media coverage of Africans have further fueled these attacks, and it might hamper perception of African countries regarding India," he added.

Africans in China tend to face a few instances of racism, but it has rarely been violent. Recently, Qiaobi, a detergent manufacturing company came up with a racial advertisement featuring an African man. There was a massive outcry over the ad forcing the government to act and have it banned.