Chinese universities seek top students for maths and science classes to meet ‘strategic demands’
- Beijing wants best and brightest high school graduates to go into science and tech
- Thirty-six colleges are taking part in initiative to nurture talent and focus more on basic research
China’s leading universities will offer special classes in fundamental sciences for the country’s top students, as part of Beijing’s push to nurture talent in science and technology.
Beijing wants the best and brightest high school graduates to go into the industry to meet the country’s “significant strategic demands”.
Told to focus more on basic research, 36 universities – including prestigious Tsinghua and Zhejiang – said they would select the best students for special classes in these and other areas when the new academic year begins in September, according to enrolment plans announced in the past week.
These subjects have been unpopular with Chinese students in recent years because they are seen as offering less employment potential than the applied sciences, such as medicine and engineering.
The education ministry plan also aims to increase the numbers in humanities subjects like philosophy, history and ancient Chinese.
Tsinghua University said it would open five new academies in Beijing to offer 11 majors for students who “are determined, talented and have a sense of mission” in devoting themselves to strategic fields.
In the east, Zhejiang University said it would take 210 students for 10 majors under the plan. They will study at its elite Chu Kochen Honours College in Hangzhou.
The University of Science and Technology in Anhui province also said it had places for 210 students across nine majors.
The education ministry has said students who take part in the plan will have more chance of being recommended for graduate school, getting support from top researchers and obtaining scholarships.
But unlike other undergraduates, they will not be allowed to change their majors once they have begun their studies.
“This means the government wants people who are truly interested and ambitious about basic research,” said Xiong Bingqi, deputy director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute in Shanghai.
Graduates would be expected to contribute to areas including “high-end chips and software, intelligence in science and technology, new materials, advanced production and state security”, the ministry said when it announced the plan.
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“In the past we didn’t attach enough importance to basic research,” Xiong said. “People made their choices according to market demand – they preferred subjects such as management and law which often provide better jobs.”
He said while the government should do more to create jobs with better benefits in other areas, the priority should be nurturing young people at university.
“It’s the responsibility of the universities to foster talent – and that’s the basis for improvement in science and technology,” he added.
