MOE lists accredited foreign education institutions

China's Ministry of Education (MOE) has published a list of over 10,000 overseas colleges and universities in 44 countries which are accredited by China, in an effort to prevent domestic students from being cheated by bogus overseas higher education institutes.

The listed colleges and universities are from countries which are popular destinations for Chinese students, such as the US, the UK, Australia and Canada, according to the MOE.

There has been a rapid increase in the number of students who study overseas.

There will be half a million Chinese students studying abroad by the end of 2014, the largest group in the world, China Radio International reported.

Staff from the MOE said that some uncertified overseas private colleges have poor standards or go into liquidation while some illegal agents cheat students by providing false information, the Beijing Times reported on Sunday.

Some self-sponsored Chinese students lack the capability to learn and independent living is also a problem, the staff added.

The ministry suggested that students should check the information of overseas colleges and universities via the Chinese overseas study supervision website and Chinese embassies abroad before applying.