Breaking the Old System

　　Controversies over a university president’sappointment arouses debate about highereducation reform

　　OnJune 26， Lin Jianhua was appointed bynational education authorities to take thehelm of prestigious Zhejiang Universityin east China’s Zhejiang Province. But the transferbrought the obscure former headmaster ofChongqing University nothing but embarrassment.

　　Just days before the announcement，Zhejiang University’s alumni jointly posted astatement online expressing their requirementsfor a new president， as well as an open letterdirectly opposing the rumored installation of Linon the grounds.

　　“A university with a history of 116 yearsneeds a president who has an excellentacademic background in order to carry on itsdistinguished cultural legacy，” the open letterwrote.

　　It saidthat Lin， who was provost andexecutive vice president of Peking Universitybefore becoming president of ChongqingUniversity in October 2010， was a solidadministrator yet did not have impressiveacademic achievements.

　　Founded in 1897， Zhejiang Universityranked 28th on the 2013 Asian UniversityRankings released by British higher educationconsulting company Quacquarelli Symondsin June. It is the sixth most prestigious amongall higher learning institutions on the Chinesemainland. The university has more than 44，000full-time students.

　　Wang Xiaojie， head ofthe French chapterof Zhejiang University’s Alumni Associationwho contributed to the formation of theonline statement， said that the students，teachers and alumni of the university shouldbe able to have a say in who is appointed itspresident.

　　In his inauguration speech， Lin said thathe will work hard to provide professors andstudents with the opportunity to realize theirpotential and compete fairly.

　　Stifling bureaucracy

　　In China， the presidency of a top-notch universityis deemed as an official government post.Currently， presidents of 76 universities directlyunder the Ministry of Education (MOE) haveadministrative rankings corresponding to viceminister or bureau chief.

　　That administrators of the nation’s top universitiesare officials first and educators secondis a frequent criticism.

　　“They answer to the higher authorities thatappoint them but not the faculty and students，”said Xiong Bingqi， Deputy Director of Beijingbasededucation think tank 21st CenturyEducation Research Institute， noting that bureaucracyin higher learning institutions acrossthe country has hampered teaching quality.

　　“How its president is elected reflects thekey values of a university， which should be thepursuit of higher academic levels， rather thanbureaucratic abilities，” said Yang Dongping，Director of the institute.

　　The appointment system shows thatChinese universities are not independent， Yangsaid， adding that the system needs reform andautonomy of universities is an important componentof education reform.

　　According to Liu Daoyu， former Presidentof Wuhan University in central China’s HubeiProvince， the current method for selectinguniversity presidents seems to have taken abig step backwards compared to the systemthat was in use in the 1980s when the MOE would carry out opinion polls among senioracademics before appointment. Now universityheadmasters are simply brought in fromon high.

　　Wang explained， “Professors and studentshave no idea today who will be appointed headof the university tomorrow； if this were to happenin France it would be a joke.”

　　Wangfavors an approach in which theposition is first advertised publicly and then acompetitive screening of candidates is undertakenby a body formed by the university incollaboration with central authorities. He suggestedthat alumni should also be invited totake part in the process.

　　Chu Zhaohui， a researcher with theNational Institute of Education Sciences，warned that “parachuted” presidents werevery likely to fail due to a lack of knowledgeabout their schools.

　　“Especially after the merger of Chineseuniversities since the late 1990s， those presidentsonly with administrative experience willhave many problems dealing with the wholemanagement of the larger universities，” Chusaid.

　　In recent years， university presidents haverotated between positions more frequently，which makes it more difficult for them to appreciatethe unique characteristics of eachuniversity， Xiong said.

　　Stalled reform

　　The power of bureaucrats in China’s universitieshas been widely criticized since 2007， whenZhang Ming， a professor at the Beijing-basedRenmin University of China， complained on theInternet how deans abuse their administrativepower to influence academic research.

　　“Universities are run by bureaucrats as ifthey were government departments. They focuson quantity instead of quality，” Zhang said.In a blog he wrote in March 2007， Zhangsaid that he might be forced to leave the universityafter publicly defying the director of theschool of international relations.

　　Two days later， Zhang was deposed as headof his department， although he kept his title atthe university.

　　Other universities strive for relative autonomy.In Guangdong Province’s Shenzhen， ZhuQingshi bucked the trend as president of SouthUniversity of Science and Technology， whichissues degrees through accredited overseasschools independently of the MOE.

　　When the MOE required universities toexpand enrollment to absorb excess labor， Zhupushed back to preserve the school’s extraordinarilylow student-to-teacher ratio.

　　According to the aims outlined in China’s10-year program for education reform in 2011-20， there are going to be changes to the waygovernment manages higher education. Thepractice of ranking school officials accordingto the same system that applies to governmentofficials will be done away with and themethod of appointing school presidents will beimproved.

　　In January，three presidents recruitedthrough open selections by the MOE assumedthe chairs of their universities. They are ZhangXinxin of University of Science and TechnologyBeijing， Xu Anlong of Beijing University ofChinese Medicine and Lai Maode of NanjingbasedChina Pharmaceutical University in eastChina’s Jiangsu Province.

　　The threeuniversity presidents were pickedlast December. It was the second time the MOEhas publicly recruited top leaders for its affiliateduniversities.

　　The previous round， which began inDecember 2011， included openings for twouniversity presidents for Changchun-basedNortheast Normal University in Jilin Provinceand Chengdu-based Southwestern Universityof Finance and Economics in Sichuan Province，as well as six university chief accountants. Thewhole process had multiple layers of screeningthat ended in March 2012.

　　During thisround， the ministry adaptedrequirements for candidates that focusedon two things： candidates must have richexperience in management of high-level universities，and they have to guarantee theircomplete immersion in university managementonce they are selected.

　　“A more open selection process will helpaddress the problem that Chinese universitiesare overly influenced by their administrations，”said Lao Kaisheng， an education professor atBeijing Normal University.

　　“The new requirements reflect the MOE’spurpose in recruiting truly professional presidentswho are impervious to the influence ofadministrative power，” Xiong said.

　　Zhang Zongyi， who became president ofthe Southwestern University of Finance andEconomics after going through the MOE’srecruitment process in 2011， said that the procedureswere tough.

　　“When Iapplied for the president position，I did not expect it to be so difficult. I actuallythought it would just be some interviews，”Zhang said in an interview with The BeijingNews.

　　When Zhang gave his campaign speech， hefound that students and faculty， as well as someretired professors and alumni of the university，were present.

　　However， Xiongsaid that the recruitmentprocess is not open enough.

　　“Although any candidates who meet therequirements can participate in the selection，members of the expert panel that decided theresult are from the MOE rather than any independentcollege councils，” he said.

　　According to the MOE， public opinionsfrom representatives of faculty and studentsare also included in the recruitment.

　　However， this does not help dissolve Xiong’sdisbelief. “Last year the feedback of facultyand students was not published and we don’tknow how big a role their opinions played inthe final decision，” Xiong said.

　　“No success will be achieved for educationreform， as long as the presidents are appointedby administrative authorities，” he added.

　　By Yin Pumin