Science Nov 19 2009:University Head Zhu Qingshi Challenges Old Academic Ways

Q: What did you do in Hefei to earn your
reputation as a reformer?
Z.Q.: My most important contribution to
USTC was not what I did but what I did not
do. In the past several years, Chinese universities
grew very quickly, buying up land and
enlarging enrollments. But teaching staffs
were not expanded. We wanted to maintain
academic standards, so we rejected this
approach. Secondly, the Ministry of Education
evaluates teaching and research activities
at all universities. Evaluation is a good
thing. But the ministry’s evaluation now is
not a real evaluation; it’s a formal exercise.
Q: An exercise in wining and dining?
Z.Q.: Exactly. The evaluators would come to
our university, and we didn’t prepare anything
special; instead we asked them to
observe the professors and students.
Q: Did the education ministry appreciate
your approach?
Z.Q.: No, they did not appreciate it. We didn’t
get perfect marks, but around 70% of China’s
universities did. Everybody knows the evaluation
has no meaning. Of course, it’s connected
to funding, and our university got less money
from the central government. But we kept a
very high level of education and research.
Q: In what way will SUST be different from
other Chinese universities?
Z.Q.: We will abolish rank: what we call
debureaucratization of the administration.
Q: How will that help?
Z.Q.: The main problem in higher education is
bureaucratic power. Many professors now pursue
bureaucratic rank instead of academic
excellence. If you attain a high rank, you get
money, a car, research funding. This is why
Chinese universities have lost vitality.
Q: How will you persuade people to work for
SUST rather than top universities like
Tsinghua or Beida [Peking University]?
Z.Q.: First, the Shenzhen government promised
that we can hire professors at the same
salary as professors at Hong Kong University
of Science and Technology. That’s higher
than Beida, even higher than many U.S. universities.
Also, SUST will be the first university
in China with a significant budget for
research. This is something I’m pursuing
very hard. We don’t want our professors to
have to continuously apply for funding.
Q: A lot of critics say that China’s education
system suppresses creativity. At the teaching
level, what needs to change?
Z.Q.: We feel that the whole year of grade
three of high school [equivalent to senior
year in the United States] is wasted just
preparing for the Gao Kao [the national university
entrance exam].
At SUST, we will not enroll students based
on Gao Kao results. We will enroll them
directly from grade two of high school. Next
year, we will take 50 students from grade two.
Q: Does the education ministry see your
rebel attitude as a threat to its authority?
Z.Q.: They might not forbid us to carry out
our plan, but they also might not encourage
us. There is a danger that our students may
not get a diploma issued by the education
ministry. My goal is to ensure that my students
are accepted by society and get good
jobs after they graduate. If I accomplish that,
this experiment will be a success.
People are looking for a university to
challenge the education system and show an
effective path for reform. SUST is going to
face many problems. I am prepared to be the
first to try true education reform, but maybe
someone after me will be the first to succeed.