The China market might have more problems than COVID-19
Professor Ka Ho Mok (Lingnan University) reported surveys of students in Hong Kong and the PRC to a UK webinar last week (thanks to a learned reader for the pointer).
One found 29 per cent of applicants to UK universities were likely/very likely to cancel and 39 per cent were undecided.
A second survey asked students if they are interested in studying abroad after COVID-19 and 84 per cent said no.
Of those that were, the top five destinations were the US, Hong Kong, UK, Japan and Taiwan. (The bottom five were France, NZ, Korea, Malaysia and Italy.)
Professor Ho Mok says media, and especially social media (specifically YouTube) reports of discrimination against Chinese people in Australia might have something to do with its absence from the top five. It could also explain Japan and Taiwan’s popularity – with parents of prospective students preferring destinations where they think their children will be safer.
Certainly both are small surveys taken during fast-changing times but the second is not great news given it was taken before the PRC upped its criticism of Australia.