Foreign students taking primary or high school courses in Shenzhen can expect a better quality of education in future, according to the city's education bureau.

Replying to a CPPCC Shenzhen committee member's proposal, a bureau spokesman said foreign students were welcome to study in the city¡¯s top public schools such as Shenzhen Senior High School and Shenzhen Foreign Languages School. Foreign students studying in these schools would be exempt from some courses such as politics.

A project has already been scheduled to build a high-quality public international school in Nanshan District, which would offer special and better education to foreign students in Shenzhen. The school would be jointly managed by the education bureau and foreign education organizations.

Although She Guozhi, a CPPCC Shenzhen committee member, had suggested top public schools could have international departments for foreign students, this is not allowed under national education regulations.

There are more than 600 foreign students studying in Shenzhen with 381 of them enrolled at the city's three international schools. More than 200 foreign students study in public schools mainly designed for Chinese students.

Two joint international schools being built by enterprisers from Hong Kong and South Korea were approved in 2003 and were expected to be finished soon in Yantian and Bao'an districts.

Editor: Olivia