A CPPCC member called on education departments to take effective measures to protect Chinese children who are studying or want to study abroad.

Statistics show that the number of Chinese teenagers studying abroad grew at an annual rate of 40 percent in the last three years. The number is expected to reach 50,000 this year and exceed 100,000 by 2005.

Many of the teenagers studying in foreign countries are too young to control themselves and need better protection, said Chang Cheng, who is attending the on-going Fifth Session of the Ninth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

He called on departments concerned to review the domestic education system and pay highly attention to the problems brought about by the tide of going abroad among primary and middle school students.

With a growing number of young Chinese about to head for foreign schools, many foreign educational organizations have lowered their enrollment standards in order to attract more Chinese students. But quite a few intermediary organs, driven by lust for money, present a false picture to cheat parents who want their children to become a talent. With their parents far away, some children who are too young to have a good control of themselves failed to behave properly in foreign countries. Some even committed suicide.

Chang called for scrutiny of the background, credit and educational level of foreign educational agencies which plan to enroll primary and middle school students from China, so as to avoid violation of contracts and fraudulence.

He suggested that government departments concerned reach agreements with their foreign counterparts on related issues such as the right of jurisdiction.

Intermediary organs must undergo thorough examination and lawbreakers must be dealt with according to law, he said.

( March 13, 2002)