CHINA, EDUCATION, OPINION: More College Students, More Benefits?
By Amelia Liu
The other day I happened to read some news in Chinese Business magazine, which set me to thinking deeply. It was as follows: "This September, GuangDong Pharmaceutical College admitted 5,000 new students, an increase of 3,000 students compared with last year. Nationwide, the 2004 semester has witnessed an entry of 4.2 million fresh public college students, a rise of 50,000 students year after year."
I was astonished by this statistic; it reminded me a few minutes later of the education policy our country adopted in 1999, the program of admitting more students into colleges. What has this program brought to our country in these five years? As more and more students are admitted to universities, there has been a soaring demand for campus land, dormitories, and infrastructures. A lot of college "towns," as the government demanded, have been built or are under construction. This does help solve the problem of college resource shortages, but it will also bring some negative consequences.
First, it will cost a lot of money for universities to carry out the construction and management of the new campuses. I've learned from press reports that many universities are reluctant to move. Second, as the new campuses are usually far away from the main campus, teachers have to travel a long distance to teach their students. Sometimes students even have to wait for their teachers. It's really a waste of time for both sides.
What's more, the long distance also makes it more difficult for teachers and students to communicate with each other. Teachers can't get information about students as soon as possible; likewise they will not be as familiar with them. I think it's wrong, even though the college town project does have benefits. It can accelerate the development of the local economy. For example, businessmen can build houses near the new campus and sell them to teachers, who are deeply troubled by the long distance between their homes and the new campus.
The program to admit more students in college may also cause a decline of college students' quality. Though the program's purpose is to promote the popularization of higher education, I personally think college students' qualities are falling year by year. Look at the increasing number of crimes committed by college students. From a student pouring sulfuric acid on a bear in the zoo to Ma Jiajue's cruel murder of his roommates, the crimes college students commit are becoming more and more serious. It can't be denied that it has something to do with the decline of college students' quality.
Therefore, though it is necessary to admit more students to college, we need not be hasty. As an old Chinese saying goes: "Things will develop in the opposite direction when they become extreme." In other words, we may receive a "reward" that goes against our will. And that's the result we don't want to see.
The other day I happened to read some news in Chinese Business magazine, which set me to thinking deeply. It was as follows: "This September, GuangDong Pharmaceutical College admitted 5,000 new students, an increase of 3,000 students compared with last year. Nationwide, the 2004 semester has witnessed an entry of 4.2 million fresh public college students, a rise of 50,000 students year after year."
I was astonished by this statistic; it reminded me a few minutes later of the education policy our country adopted in 1999, the program of admitting more students into colleges. What has this program brought to our country in these five years? As more and more students are admitted to universities, there has been a soaring demand for campus land, dormitories, and infrastructures. A lot of college "towns," as the government demanded, have been built or are under construction. This does help solve the problem of college resource shortages, but it will also bring some negative consequences.
First, it will cost a lot of money for universities to carry out the construction and management of the new campuses. I've learned from press reports that many universities are reluctant to move. Second, as the new campuses are usually far away from the main campus, teachers have to travel a long distance to teach their students. Sometimes students even have to wait for their teachers. It's really a waste of time for both sides.
What's more, the long distance also makes it more difficult for teachers and students to communicate with each other. Teachers can't get information about students as soon as possible; likewise they will not be as familiar with them. I think it's wrong, even though the college town project does have benefits. It can accelerate the development of the local economy. For example, businessmen can build houses near the new campus and sell them to teachers, who are deeply troubled by the long distance between their homes and the new campus.
The program to admit more students in college may also cause a decline of college students' quality. Though the program's purpose is to promote the popularization of higher education, I personally think college students' qualities are falling year by year. Look at the increasing number of crimes committed by college students. From a student pouring sulfuric acid on a bear in the zoo to Ma Jiajue's cruel murder of his roommates, the crimes college students commit are becoming more and more serious. It can't be denied that it has something to do with the decline of college students' quality.
Therefore, though it is necessary to admit more students to college, we need not be hasty. As an old Chinese saying goes: "Things will develop in the opposite direction when they become extreme." In other words, we may receive a "reward" that goes against our will. And that's the result we don't want to see.
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