Universities fall short in recruitment of students_美文

Universities fall short in recruitment of students

Last year, a series of cases were reported in which parents opposed their children going tocollege. This sparked heated debate over the necessity to receive a higher education.

In September, a father in Chengdu, Sichuan province, objected to his daughter's decision to go to college, saying it was a waste of time and money as employment prospects for college graduates were not good. He said it was more sensible to find work after graduating from high school.

In an online survey, more than 70 percent of the 10,000 plus respondents supported the father.

"The case indicates that students and parents are losing their confidence in a college education," Chen said.

"Universities, education specialists and officials should pay great attention to such cases, reflect on higher education and improve the situation to help people regain confidence."

But Wang Xiaoyan, director of the higher education department at the Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences, said, "These are just extreme cases and the overwhelming majority of Chinese families support their children receiving higher education."

Wang added that universities in some provinces failed to recruit enough students because the students had various choices.

She said some students who expected to be admitted to their "dream" universities but who failed to perform well in the gaokao, or national college entrance exam, may give up the chance of going to an ordinary college this year and have a second attempt in the gaokao next year. Others may choose to study abroad even if they are admitted by domestic universities.