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The Ministry of Education requires Chinese students sent abroad to study at government expense to "serve the homeland for at least two years", or else they must "pay back their tuition fees and expenditures originally paid by the government". "Government-sponsored students abroad must return in a timely fashion and work in China for a minimum of two years," said a new regulation issued on Friday on the management of government-funded students studying postgraduate degrees abroad. Students that breach their contract will suffer financially. The regulation orders complete repayment of tuition fees and expenditures and an additional penalty payment of about 30 percent of the entire educational investment by the government if they do not comply. The ministry also instructed institutions to create more opportunities and offer work-related guidance for returned students they had employed before their study abroad. The government sent 26,658 people to study abroad from 1996 to Sept. 2006, of whom about 97 percent returned in time. (www.171english.cn September 28, 2007)