‘Instant PhDs’: head of China university fired for using US$2.7 million to rehire teachers after obtaining doctorates from ‘obscure’ school to lift status

The teachers attended a school in Manila where they earned PhDs in 28 months, far shorter than normal

The school then rehired them to boost its doctorate rate, sparking public criticism

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A head of a university was fired for spending US$27 million to rehire teachers sent to the Philippines to get ‘instant PhD degrees’. Photo: SCMP composite

Published: 6:00pm, 25 Jul 2022Updated: 11:07am, 27 Jul 2022

Corrected [10:47am, 27 Jul, 2022]

[10:47am, 27 Jul, 2022]
The original version of this article misstated the total amount of money Shaoyang University spent on the "instant Phd" reward payment. The amount was 18 million yuan, not 180 million yuan.

Education authorities in central China fired the head of a university for spending over 18 million yuan (US$2.7 million) on one-off payments for teachers sent to a university in the Philippines who earned an “instant PhD” and were then rehired to boost the school’s ranking.

Peng Xilin, party secretary of Shaoyang University in Hunan province, rehired 22 teachers who went to Adamson University, a school in Manila, where they received a PhD degree after 28 months despite most PhDs taking a minimum of four years to earn.

Responding to widespread public criticism, the Hunan Provincial Education Department said on Sunday that Shaoyang University had resorted to “inappropriate practices” in its talent strategy and Peng was fired for being “unscientific” in his decision-making and “imprecise” at work.

Shaoyang University became a centre of controversy last week after it made a public employment announcement that stated it had re-employed the teachers, raising public doubts about the quality of the degrees.

The degree could be criticised as being of low quality, but that does not change the fact that it is a doctoral degree.

Xiong Bingqi, director of 21st Century Education Research Institute

Peng’s programme was criticised for the unusually short study period to obtain a PhD and a perception that the school was “obscure”. However, Adamson University is considered a top school in the Philippines.

Furthermore, an additional gripe focused on the generous payment package of 850,000 yuan (US$126,000) for each newly rehired teacher, which people said seemed inconsistent with the “real value” of their degrees.

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‘Instant PhDs’: head of China university fired for using US$2.7 million to rehire teachers after obtaining doctorates from ‘obscure’ school to lift status

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} The teachers attended a school in Manila where they earned PhDs in 28 months, far shorter than normal The school then rehired them to boost its doctorate rate, sparking public criticism

The teachers attended a school in Manila where they earned PhDs in 28 months, far shorter than normal

The school then rehired them to boost its doctorate rate, sparking public criticism