CHINA, NATIONAL, NEWS, BEIJING: Tsinghua PhD Candidate Quits School
by Vera Chen
A Tsinghua University PhD candidate made his decision to quit school on September 22 after four year's study there.
Wang Yin, the dissatisfied PhD candidate who majored in computer science, posted a 10,000-word application to quit school on the school BBS and his MSN personal space. In the application letter, he expressed his disappointment with the university's education methods and the country's overall educational system. The application was later copied and posted all over the internet, which has aroused waves of controversy nationwide.
His largest dissatisfaction was the school's stipulation that doctoral students can only graduate after publishing at least four papers, some of which must be carried by the country's core academic publications.
According to Wang Yin, doctoral education is all about papers, while his aim is to "maximize self-development".
"Of course I can write papers, but those published papers are not what I'm really interested in. They are worthless as trash," Wang wrote in his application.
"The teachers make you publish your papers even if they know clearly that they are worthless. Because the government appropriates educational funds according to the academic results that the university has achieved, which is evaluated by the quantity of papers. So more papers, more money."
"In China, PhD candidates study for papers but not scientific research, and my creativity is fading away. I've wasted four years here; and I made the decision not to do this anymore," he concluded.
The school authorities of Tsinghua University declared that Wang has his right to make his choice. However, if he really quits school, according to school regulations, he has to take the consequences. A quitting PhD candidate is required to pay the school 30,000 RMB as a punishment.
According to Professor Hong, Wang's teacher at Tsinghua, the Computer Science Department has held a meeting especially for Wang Yin's application to quit. However, the result has not come out yet.
Wang's decision to quit caused great disputations among the students of Tsinghua University. One of his acquaintances disclosed that Wang chose to quit because he couldn't adapt to the atmosphere that students care only about papers.
"I've known him for 4 years. He is a hard-working and precise student and has high expectation of academic studies. He complained a lot, but I didn't expect that he would quit," the acquaintance said.
A classmate of Wang's said, "Wang seldom came to the lab and rarely talked with us. We didn't know what's in his mind. If I had been closer to him, I would have tried to persuade him. I think he's a bit immature."
According to a random survey of the Tsinghua campus, 30% of the students supported his quitting school, 50% had the opposite opinion, and the rest were indifferent. The supporters agreed that there are some problems with the current educational system, while the objectors showed great pity. They thought that according to Wang's article, he is not good at communicating with others and couldn't find a way to combat stress.
Wang's parents are both middle school teachers in Sichuan. His father said that it was inappropriate to post the application on the internet, but how they would deal with this quitting thing was their "private business within the family."
Wang entered Tsinghua University in 2001 after graduating from Sichuan University. He is planning to go abroad and find a good teacher for the "very kind of academic study" he really wants, just like the one he hoped for when he arrived at Tshinghua four years ago.
A Tsinghua University PhD candidate made his decision to quit school on September 22 after four year's study there.
Wang Yin, the dissatisfied PhD candidate who majored in computer science, posted a 10,000-word application to quit school on the school BBS and his MSN personal space. In the application letter, he expressed his disappointment with the university's education methods and the country's overall educational system. The application was later copied and posted all over the internet, which has aroused waves of controversy nationwide.
His largest dissatisfaction was the school's stipulation that doctoral students can only graduate after publishing at least four papers, some of which must be carried by the country's core academic publications.
According to Wang Yin, doctoral education is all about papers, while his aim is to "maximize self-development".
"Of course I can write papers, but those published papers are not what I'm really interested in. They are worthless as trash," Wang wrote in his application.
"The teachers make you publish your papers even if they know clearly that they are worthless. Because the government appropriates educational funds according to the academic results that the university has achieved, which is evaluated by the quantity of papers. So more papers, more money."
"In China, PhD candidates study for papers but not scientific research, and my creativity is fading away. I've wasted four years here; and I made the decision not to do this anymore," he concluded.
The school authorities of Tsinghua University declared that Wang has his right to make his choice. However, if he really quits school, according to school regulations, he has to take the consequences. A quitting PhD candidate is required to pay the school 30,000 RMB as a punishment.
According to Professor Hong, Wang's teacher at Tsinghua, the Computer Science Department has held a meeting especially for Wang Yin's application to quit. However, the result has not come out yet.
Wang's decision to quit caused great disputations among the students of Tsinghua University. One of his acquaintances disclosed that Wang chose to quit because he couldn't adapt to the atmosphere that students care only about papers.
"I've known him for 4 years. He is a hard-working and precise student and has high expectation of academic studies. He complained a lot, but I didn't expect that he would quit," the acquaintance said.
A classmate of Wang's said, "Wang seldom came to the lab and rarely talked with us. We didn't know what's in his mind. If I had been closer to him, I would have tried to persuade him. I think he's a bit immature."
According to a random survey of the Tsinghua campus, 30% of the students supported his quitting school, 50% had the opposite opinion, and the rest were indifferent. The supporters agreed that there are some problems with the current educational system, while the objectors showed great pity. They thought that according to Wang's article, he is not good at communicating with others and couldn't find a way to combat stress.
Wang's parents are both middle school teachers in Sichuan. His father said that it was inappropriate to post the application on the internet, but how they would deal with this quitting thing was their "private business within the family."
Wang entered Tsinghua University in 2001 after graduating from Sichuan University. He is planning to go abroad and find a good teacher for the "very kind of academic study" he really wants, just like the one he hoped for when he arrived at Tshinghua four years ago.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home