Can China build world- class universities?
Tsinghua University’s recent reform to its policies on international students’ enrollment has aroused widespread criticism on China’s social network. According to the latest enrollment regulation, Tsinghua University pledged to “adopt the international practices” and remove the entrance exams for international students, whereas Chinese students are still required to take the country’s grueling college entrance exam, known for its extremely difficult questions and the insurmountable pressure placed on students and families. For instance, out of 9.4 million young Chinese students who attended the national college entrance examinations in 2016, only around 3,000 students have the chance to study at Tsinghua University, one of China’s top two universities.
No wonder Chinese netizens are outraged over Tsinghua’s new regulation. It has become a huge controversy since many people suspect that the new regulation will significantly lower the enrollment criteria for international students. Moreover, after further research by some online users on the “systematically discriminative regulations” such as enrollment criteria, accommodation and scholarships, it was found that international students are favored over Chinese students to study at Tsinghua.
The netizens accused the university of allocating much more funding resources to international students. While the Chinese students have to go through fierce competition to earn their scholarships, it seems that international students are all eligible to apply for scholarships by simply “being foreign.” Also, some complained that international students live in en- suite single rooms while Chinese students are squeezed into four- people dorms with shared toilets.
In the netizens’ eyes, it is far easier to study and live at Tsinghua as a foreign national than a local Chinese student. Questions about fairness and equity in China’s educational system were raised in the online community.
Further explanation was given by the university to the press that the enrollment of international students is completely separate from that of the Chinese students, which is under a different quota system. And the university defended its regulations and argued that it is an important step for Chinese universities to be “internationalized.”
Tsinghua isn’t the only one mired in controversy. Along with the rapid development in China’s economy and technical capability, Beijing is called upon to build a batch of worldclass universities in China.
However, before mapping out our ambitious plan to be the new education center of the world, we need to understand what are the international standards and practices of world- class universities, and more importantly, how they have upheld their reputation over time.
The internationalization of China’s higher educational system is potentially facing a dilemma of “quantity over quality,” similar to the early days of China’s industrial development. We might be, unfortunately, repeating the same mistake, which resulted in unsustainable development and a low- quality growth model, i. e. the extensive growth model led to environmental degradation, income discrepancy and low-added value human capital.
Although China’s State Council has not set a numerical target on developing world- class universities, most Chinese universities still adopt quantitative indicators to map out and evaluate their strategic plans.
They will focus on how many international students are enrolled, how many international scholars are hired, how many articles are published in international publications, and how many elite programs are established, etc.
In the process, quantity is valued over quality. Some complain that the barrier to entry for international students at top Chinese universities is way lower than for Chinese students. When I interviewed in a few leading Chinese universities, some international students even complained that they felt their classmates are not qualified and they urged the universities to raise the standards when enrolling international students next year.
Looking at numbers, Chinese universities generously offer international students and scholars unprecedented privileges with enormous funding support. For example, international students often live in one or two- bedroom suites with air conditioning, 24- hour hot water, heating and sanitation, while Chinese students still live in outdated dormitories shared by four to eight students.
Compared with major world- class universities that China wanted to emulate, it is lagging far behind. Most universities in the US or Europe allow all students, without any requirement for nationality, to apply for on- campus residence. They do not categorize domestic and international students into different groups when making accommodation plans. International and local students often live in the same residential buildings.
Most Chinese universities separate the administration and management of Chinese and international students, from registration, course management, accommodation, funding to social life. This is dramatically different from most of the universities in developed countries where all students are under the same management and treated equally.
These man- made psychological segregations may actually impede Beijing’s ambition to build its own educational brands. In my interviews, both international and Chinese students expressed concerns that it is hard to make friends with another group as they are in separate systems. When students are administered differently and treated differently, it will potentially reduce their interactions and erode educational ethics of fairness and social equity.