Calligraphy teacher shows foreign students the right way to use a writing brush. Photo: Huang Lanlan/GT

Peking University said on Monday a Filipino student met its standards of scholarships amid claims the school granted 470,000 yuan ($66,500) to the student with inadequate Chinese language skills.  

The Peking University Health Science Center said on its website on Monday that the Filipino student was enrolled into clinical medicine major, which will be taught in Chinese. The student passed the Philippine government selection process, and qualified for the Chinese government's scholarship program.

The university's statement came after netizens posted offer of the student, claiming the student was granted a 470,000-yuan scholarship. The post also said that the student's Chinese fluency level does not meet the standards, so he was allowed to take a one-year Chinese course in Shandong University. 

The post soon garnered heated discussions online, as some netizens said the university's standards are too low in terms of international students, while others weren't satisfied with the bumper scholarship it offered.

The university responded that the student will not be allowed to take major courses if she fails to pass the required tests. 

Students with scholarships are evaluated annually. One's scholarship will be revoked if they are considered inadequate, the university said.

According to China's scholarship standard for international students, the Filipino student can get a maximum of 66,200 yuan scholarship per year, while her tuition is 45,000 yuan per year. 

Tuition for international students are always higher than domestic students in most countries; therefore, the bumper full scholarships make sense, Xiong Bingqi, deputy director of the Shanghai-based 21st Century Education Research Institute, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Xiong urged universities to take the enrollment of international students seriously, meaning that the students being enrolled should deserve the incentive. 

Many international students also said studying in China is a challenge for them academically. 

"I have to pass the level 5/6 of HSK (the Chinese Proficiency Test) and an IELTS 7.0 to enter the university," Yang Won-suk, a South Korean student studying English literature at Nankai University in Tianjin, told the Global Times on Monday.  

Piyanuch, a Thai postgraduate at Nankai University, also said that she has to work really hard in China to keep pace with other students, especially considering she has to take two extra Chinese courses per week.
Newspaper headline: PKU defends grants to international student