Chinese civil engineering students told to pick their courses in a ‘lucky draw’

Hundreds of civil engineering students at a college in central China have been told to take part in a lucky draw to see which areas they will specialise in during their studies, according to a newspaper report.

About 500 second-year students in the civil engineering faculty at the University of South China in Hunan province took part in the exercise earlier this month, the Changshan Evening Post reported.

The draw decided which students were allocated to courses including road and bridge construction, water supply and engineering costs.

The faculty director said they could not figure out a better way to convince students to take less popular subjects.

One third of students with better academic performances were allowed to pick the areas they like, while the rest have to follow the results of the draw.

“All students tend to choose one or two popular areas. Meanwhile, some less popular ones are unable to get enough students. We cannot think of a better solution than a lucky draw. We know some other universities in Hunan have also adopted the same practice,” the director said.