OPINION> Brendan John Worrell
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OPINION> Brendan John Worrell
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Gaokao and China's evolving education
By BJ Worrell (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-06-06 17:02 "Though a bitter pill to swallow, in a globalized world, the training ground that is the present day gaokao, provides young Chinese entering adulthood, a vigorous initiation into the demands of an increasingly competitive society." 14 years ago a Doctoral thesis at Columbia University, referred to China's National College Entrance Exam, gaokao, as "a well-known, much condemned phenomenon". This weekend, an estimated 10 million senior high school students pull out their pens, and hair, for the annual gaokao, and the question begs to be asked if times have changed for the better. Appreciating the constraints, which can be huge, from a different angle it can be seen that developments have been taking place since the early 1990s that afford us an element of optimism. First would be the mushrooming of private education institutions. While a "user pays" model is no relief for poor families, it does provide a valid option for further education. More work is being done in this regard to encourage scholarship offerings and student loans from the banking sector. Meanwhile the establishment of a quality assurance framework that guarantees private education institutions meet standards, which the wider community can trust, is being more vigorously addressed. This is one area where foreign campuses are beginning to intervene and provide joint programs that provide feeder courses into further study abroad options and respected internationally weighted degrees. This trend is increasingly being observed throughout China as foreign institutions realize that just because a student may not have entered a high ranking Chinese public university via the gaokao, it does not necessarily mean they cannot excel at an overseas institution. Secondly, the growth of specialist technical/vocational education is growing not only in provision but also appeal, offering a variety of employment pathways. In many developed nations such technical colleges often hold greater practicality and 'market-ready' graduates than traditional university degree programs. Constraining this sector though in China is the situation where such professions are less esteemed and national standards of accreditation are vague or in need of streamlining. One option is the bridging between technical colleges and traditional universities to enable students to complete a certificate and later diploma at a technical college, serving as a ladder into a university level bachelors program or above. This embrace of formal trade skills should also contribute to minimizing the divide that may exist between professions. With the increasing sophistication of the Chinese economy a plumber, electrician, or qualified chef may earn a decent salary on par with a university graduate. Alternatively, if neglected domestically, the global demand for their skills will nudge them to travel abroad to where the work is with many developed nations now offering trades based residency options. In this situation all those years spent studying English at school starts to pay dividends. Thirdly, lifelong learning is being embraced with schools for the aged and options for the above 25’s being formulated. This attitude is enshrined in Chinese culture via the proverb "huo dao lao, xue dao lao," live to a long age – study for a long age. Particularly now when students and families may feel it is all or nothing with the gaokao this philosophy needs to be reaffirmed. Keep your eyes open for the appearance soon of RPL's (recognition of prior learning) that can be incorporated to assist workers who are going back into study, providing much needed credit points based on skills acquired previously on a job. This fast-tracks study time which is of greater importance for mature age students. |
