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The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) clarified on Wednesday that over the past five years, most foreign students in the country were actually Indians and not Chinese.
In an inquiry at the House of Representatives, CHEd Executive Director Cinderella Benitez-Jaro said there were 17,202 foreign students enrolled in the country. Of these, 8,973 were Indians, 5,334 Chinese and 838 Nigerians.
“Based on our data, for Academic Year 2022-2023, it was NCR (National Capital Region) with the highest number of Chinese students. For academic year 2023 … NCR, followed by Region II [Cagayan Valley],” she said.
She admitted a variance in the data presented by CHEd, whose figures are based on enrollment, and the Bureau of Immigration, whose data are based on visa issuance.
But both agencies have agreed to share data “so we can consolidate the data of all government agencies and we can appraise the committee,” Benitez-Jaro added.
