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Quality comes before size
2005-06-28
China Daily
Big campuses and large numbers of students are not things that should be boasted about by universities, which should focus more on teaching quality, says an article in the China Youth Daily. An excerpt follows:
China's universities have in recent years lowered their entrance threshold in a bid to provide higher education to more than just elite students.
Their intention is praiseworthy. Yet the fact remains that too many universities are eager to enrol more and more students and build bigger campuses, but they completely ignore practical problems.
This haphazard development will have a negative effect on these universities' long-term development.
Universities with more than 10,000 students were already big enough. But now there are many universities with 40,000 or 50,000 students.
One way in which they have been allowed to grow is by asking for bank loans. Many universities are borrowing too much from banks. These unaffordable debts will probably force them into a financial crisis.
Why are these universities in need of so much money? Many universities are spending lavishly on land and building university towns, often bigger than necessary. They believe that big campuses will improve their fame and enhance their competence. But more often than not, the most world-renowned universities do not boast large campuses.
The number of students enrolled should not exceed a certain level, or it will put pressure on school managers and so lead to a reduction in teaching standards. Universities should spend more time on building up teaching facilities and improving teaching standards, and not just concentrate on numbers and size.
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