Asia

Thailand is preparing itself to become a hub for international schools and ELT once the ASEAN Economic Community is launched in 2015, officials have said. The demand for international schools and English programmes in Thailand has increased in the past 20 years.

Indian, Emirati and international educators will go head to head at major education fair this month, in a bid to tap the large expatriate Indian community living in the Gulf. 65 Indian and 100 regional and international institutions will attend the International Education Show, Sharjah.

Considerably more Americans are studying in China than previously thought, according to a new study from the Institute of International Education. It also claims the US is likely to meet its goal to send 100,000 students to China in four years by 2014, despite fears to the contrary.

Malaysia has announced a two year moratorium on new private tertiary institutions with the aim to raise its status as an educational hub. "Highly rated" foreign campuses are exempt from the freeze. Currently there are 414 private colleges in the country - a figure Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin considers too high.

Presenting new opportunities for foreign providers, the ELT market in India is set to nearly double by 2015 according to a report by The British High Commission in New Delhi. The vocational training (VET) segment of the market has the most potential, the report claims, as the government endeavours to up-skill the labour market.

According to its Bureau of Immigration (BI), the Philippines welcomed 14% more foreign students in 2012 than the previous year, reflecting the country’s rapid rise as an affordable study destination. The bureau’s student desk approved 47,478 applications for student visas and permits, up from 41,443 in 2011.

Orbital Education is to open a new international school in Shanghai, China in September. The private education company, established in 2005 by serial entrepreneur, Kevin McNeaney, has developed quickly and this will be the fifth international school in as many countries.

As a parting gift in her last week as US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton has launched a permanent foundation to build Sino-US exchange in education for years to come. The 100,000 Strong Foundation follows the similarly named programme of 2010, designed to increase the number of Americans studying in China to 100,000 by 2014. 12 times more Chinese study in America than the other way round.

Chinese admissions at US private high schools have climbed dramatically over the last five years, reaching 23,795 last year according to federal figures – up from 4,500 in 2008. The surge is good news for schools which have seen enrolments fall but some warn the influx may affect diversity at US universities.

The first ever university branch campus backed by the Chinese State is to be established in Malaysia, one of Asia's fastest growing education hubs. Xiamen University, a top twenty higher education institution in China, plans to open a five-faculty campus in September 2015. The move reflects the growing trend for Asians to study within their own region.

Education officials in Malaysia say that an agreement signed with China in 2011 to promote educational ties has resulted in a significant increase in student mobility between the two countries. There are about 10,000 Chinese students in Malaysia which officials hope could grow by 50% to 100%.

Koreans and Chinese who study at Australian universities have a strong chance of finding work when they return home and are highly valued by their employers. However, employers from both countries say Australian universities should provide more practical work experience.

Spanish could be Spain's most "valuable asset" in building ties with Asian emerging markets, Minister of Foreign Affairs José Manuel García-Margallo has claimed. His comments were made at the launch of new research from Instituto Cervantes, which shows fast-growing interest in the language across Asia, leading García-Margallo to say the region could be Spain's "new El Dorado of the 21st century".

Ending months of speculation, education partnering organisation INTO University Partnerships has sold a 25% stake to the US private equity firm Leeds Equity Partners for £66 million. INTO will use the investment to provide university partners with capital to fund “innovation and capacity building” projects.

The University of the West of England, UK, has launched the first specialist careers website for Chinese students at UK universities. UK/China GradLink will help students access the competitive Chinese job market and offset pressures to find work in the UK.