As Chinese parents eagerly push their children to study abroad, more and more Shanghai primary and middle schools are increasingly enrolling international students.

The Shanghai Municipal Education Commission has released a list of 70 local primary and secondary schools that were recently approved as qualified to recruit international students. It is the second such list released, and is available on the commission's website, www.shmec.gov.cn.

So far, the city has a total of 150 primary and middle schools that can take foreign students. Pupils who graduate from the schools will receive official diplomas, according to the commission.

"It is another step forward in the opening up of the city's education sector," said Liu Jiangyuan, an official with the international exchange department at the commission.

"And it's a measure to meet the demand," Liu added.

The newly-approved schools cover nearly all districts across the city and provide more choices and convenience to foreign parents, according to Liu.

"We have also required the schools to impose no special admission requirements on students," Liu told China Daily.

Government statistics show that the number of overseas people who live in Shanghai for more than half a year exceeds 80,000.

Usually, foreign parents in Shanghai send their children to Shanghai-based international schools to receive bilingual education.

But now, with increasing numbers of foreigners in Shanghai -- especially those from Asian countries -- parents tend to want their children to study together with Chinese children.

In late 2001, the Shanghai government approved the first 80 local schools that have official qualifications to recruit foreign students.

Currently, there are nearly 3,000 foreign students studying at local primary and middle schools and another 8,000 foreign children at 22 Shanghai-based international schools, according to the commission statistics.

"We have been encouraging qualified local schools to provide bilingual courses to attract international students," said Liu.

The international classes opened by well-known local schools like Shanghai High School, Jincai High School, Shanghai Foreign Language School and No 2 Secondary School attached to East China Normal University, are especially welcome by international parents in Shanghai, according to the commission.

And some of local middle schools have started going abroad to recruit students, according to local media reports.

(China Daily March 18, 2004)