Good Students From Szechwan

Trigger Why we are doing this story

• Bilateral ties are uneasy. The Chinese embassy issues stapled visas to residents of ‘disputed’ Arunachal Pradesh.

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Part of an unexpected encounter between atheist China and one of India’s oldest Jesuit institutions, Li is one among a group of Chinese students enrolled in various degree courses at St Xavier’s. Their aim is to read, write and speak English fluently, but when in India, it is difficult not to be drawn into the attritional politics involving the two countries. As days pass, the more they feel the texture of India, learn and listen in on the tabletalk in one of the country’s most intellectually vibrant cities, the more they feel at ease.

St Xavier’s, an autonomous college, took up the offer from Chinese NGO Saiang to enrol some students into its various Bachelor’s programmes last year. “Saiang had selected students interested in studying abroad from different parts of China. It invited us to visit China and conduct an entrance exam for applicants,” says vice-principal (dept of arts & science) Father Jimmy Keepuram. Why did the Chinese students want to come to India? “In my country’s educational institutes, whether in the schools, colleges or universities, English is almost never taught as a subject, forget spoken as a language. But many of us students realise English’s global importance and the need for us to learn to speak, read and write it,” says 21-year-old Maqun, from Anhui region in northeastern China. But not all have enrolled in Xavier’s to study English literature: most of them have chosen the commerce and arts streams.

But acclimatisation hasn’t been easy. The Chinese students had all done exceedingly well—getting over 90 per cent in school-leaving exams—back home. The first batch in 2010 had 11 students, this year six were selected. “Though they studied the same syllabus as the rest of the class, most of the first batch could not pass the exams because they didn’t know English, and so had to repeat the same year,” says Fr Keepuram, hoping there will be more students next year.

Those who failed aren’t disheartened. Most of them have picked up English in the year that they have spent in India. Li Danpeng is happy she has learnt to communicate in English even though she lost a year. She says in English: “I want to open up my own business...maybe a garments business,” adding resolutely, “I want to trade with India.”