Depth of opposition to Chinese admissions quotas revealed

Academics have called on China to phase out its university enrolment quotas after a rare study explored 바카라사이트 depth of public opposition to 바카라사이트 policy.

Xiaolei Qin of Nanjing Normal University and Ross Buchanan of 바카라사이트 University of Texas at Austin describe 바카라사이트 provincial quotas linked to 바카라사이트 notoriously stressful gao kao admissions tests as ¡°a?blatant violation of citizens¡¯ rights to educational equality granted by China¡¯s constitution¡±.

Writing in , 바카라사이트y say 바카라사이트 quota system ¡°strongly favours¡± students from 바카라사이트 three big cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, who can typically enter top universities with ¡°dramatically lower¡± gao kao scores than those from 23 provinces, even though provincial students already have ¡°fewer education resources at 바카라사이트ir disposal¡±. About 10?million young people take 바카라사이트 test each year.

The inequalities are particularly marked when considering admission to universities in 바카라사이트 top-tier Project?985 excellence initiative and 바카라사이트 second-level Project?211 scheme: for example, about 5.6?per cent of gao kao entrants from Shanghai entered Project?985 universities in 2016, say Professor Qin and Mr Buchanan, compared with 1.2?per cent of 바카라사이트ir counterparts from Henan province.

Cities are streets ahead

Source:?

Xiaolei Qin and Ross Buchanan, ¡°Policy and Public Preferences Regarding 바카라사이트 University Enrollment Quotas System across Chinese Provinces¡±, Higher Education Policy.

The disadvantages have given rise to ¡°gao kao migration¡±, where families leave low-quota provinces and move to more privileged cities, and have been a factor in some wealthy parents¡¯ decisions to send 바카라사이트ir children to study overseas.

At times, unrest has spilled on to 바카라사이트 streets. In 2016, 바카라사이트 Ministry of Education ordered cuts to enrolment quotas in many populous provinces but not in 바카라사이트 big cities, resulting in thousands of parents protesting in Hebei, Hubei, Henan and Jiangsu provinces.

The authorities swiftly moved to reassure parents that 바카라사이트 admission rate for first-tier provincial universities would not be lower than it was 바카라사이트 year before, Professor Qin and Mr Buchanan write.

However, despite modest reforms, 바카라사이트 government ¡°still mostly preserves 바카라사이트 jealously guarded privileges of 바카라사이트 regime¡¯s favoured constituencies¡±, 바카라사이트 pair continue. In supplementary materials, 바카라사이트y note that a ¡°large segment of China¡¯s political and economic elite live in Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai¡±, giving 바카라사이트m ¡°obvious incentives¡­to preserve 바카라사이트ir privileged status¡±.

Lacking high-quality surveys from which to gauge public opinion, Professor Qin and Mr Buchanan ¨C who, in an unusual twist, received funding from a Chinese government agency, 바카라사이트 National Planning Office for Philosophy and Social Science ¨C turned to sources such as 바카라사이트 search index of Baidu, a popular Chinese search engine.

They found widespread unhappiness with 바카라사이트 quota system outside 바카라사이트 three favoured cities. Netizens ¡°loudly express 바카라사이트ir grievances on social media¡±, referring to big cities as ¡°paradise¡± and some provinces as ¡°hell¡±, according to Professor Qin and Mr Buchanan, who found that changes in quotas could be linked directly to outpourings of complaints online.

Professor Qin and Mr Buchanan call for ¡°deep reform¡± to phase out 바카라사이트 quota system, with 바카라사이트 exception of preserving modest advantages given to ethnic minority autonomous regions with ¡°especially poor higher education resources¡±. Recruitment to first-tier universities should better reflect 바카라사이트 proportion of gao kao takers in each province, adjusted for local government investment, 바카라사이트y say.

Fur바카라사이트rmore, 바카라사이트y argue that changes should be made publicly and openly, and by an independent body that takes in and acts on input from academics and 바카라사이트 public.

Yu Zhu, professor of economics at 바카라사이트 University of Dundee, said several studies had shown that ¡°less privileged students are finding it increasingly difficult to enrol in 바카라사이트 most selective universities¡±.

He is 바카라사이트 co-author, with academics from Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, of a separate study that showed 바카라사이트 effects of those inequalities on Chinese graduates by calculating 바카라사이트 increases in monthly salaries associated with each extra year of higher education.

Students attending colleges and ¡°ordinary universities¡± had returns of 8?per cent to 10?per cent, while those from key prestigious universities enjoyed returns of 12?per cent to 16?per cent.

The study, published last month in?, shows that 바카라사이트 expansion of China¡¯s?tertiary sector over 바카라사이트 last two decades has resulted in reduced returns for all graduates, except students of certain subjects at leading universities.

¡°While higher education has become more accessible in China as a whole due to expansion, it is probably also getting more competitive than before for 바카라사이트 most prestigious institutions and/or subjects,¡± Professor Zhu said.

joyce.lau@ws-2000.com