"中国大学的导向出了大问题" Yigong Shi

Recently, I read the Shi Yigong’s lecture on WRSA(Western Returned Scholars Association). It talks about Chinese high education and university, tightly associated with me, a undergraduate. It drove me think a lot.

China economic development increased its engineer and experiment science development speed.

But, it seems that under China such fickle ambience, most people focus on their material wealth. Because in developing China, the young live under great pressure. Citing me as an example, I’m not son of the privileged or the rich. But the only child in our family. When I get married, two young for four old. But for my mother, five sibling for two old. That’s one of Chinese new generation’s pressure. Then we are getting a higher and higher inflation. A medium programmer, 10~20k per month. It’s very high salary for young graduates. But no matter how they do, only by their hard work, they cannot by a full-paid house in several years. Unless get a lottery or successfully startup. However, not every graduates can get such salary. So Chinese university put students employment training as their big role. So do some research universities! Why? The question is too simple to answer as long as you had the Chinese Collage Entrance Examination and the Admissions Advertisement. Employment is what good students and parents care! And some research universities in order to attract top students, have to show their high graduate employment rate and average salary. That’s side effect of society problem, the China new generation pressure! But not what Dr. Shi said, it’s the government guide.

Deep reasons

• Study Motivation: Chinese students study for life, as their parents and history taught. But in some other countries, like German, “studying for bread” is shameful. Study is citizen duty. Nowadays, in China, some parents help their children choose major which is hot for employment. All these similar phenomenons are from wrong study motivation! The fundamental reason may be the source of pragmatism and the old study aim of being privileged in Chinese history. And this old study aim has already developed into the wrong study motivation, that study is for gaining a good, well-paid, respectable job.
• Study Environment: Chinese basic study is full of all kinds of examines with crucial competitions. That’s something that foreigners cannot imagine. We got a strict grade line for entry examine. If you cannot not reach it, but you highly look forward the good high school, you must pay for the it. In some crazy cities, 10000 yuan per score less! In China, education level differs a lot. Only if you got the chance to study in some super school, you get trustable chance to have further good education.
• Social Environment: Chinese university campus always round with wall to prevent thieves. They prefer spend money to build wall, but not educate high quality citizen. Taking my university, UESTC as an example, it’s famous for its gingko trees in the old campus. In our new campus, it bought the extremely expensive gingko trees to decorate our new campus. Not only my university, this has become atmosphere in society.

All in all, some of Dr. Shi’s opinions are in common with mine. But some reasons, he didn’t analysis it well. I really hope my analysis can help foreigners understand Chinese education and university well.