China has to improve their Education standards, for sake of their Future
China’s education system has its weaknesses and most Chinese people are well aware of them. Parents are aware that education in China is focused on memorization as their children are not given training in extracurricular activities and morality. Just by teaching students to get better grades teachers cannot claim their job is done, they need to ensure students think critically and out of the box to solve problems. Due to this reason many Chinese students have started to flock overseas for their degree courses. According to IIE (Institute of International Education) and SDECA (State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs), enrollment of Chinese students has increased by 23% to 157,558 in the academic year 2010-11, which makes Chinese lot the biggest foreign student presence in United States (“forbes, 2012”).
Firstly, Chinese education system has been designed to make students think within what is being taught without thinking creatively. To further exemplify this case, a report from McKinsey on Chinese education stated “There is growing concern, among parents, employers and policymakers alike, that the system’s emphasis on rote learning and high-stakes exam taking does not foster the mental agility and innovative flair that the 21st century economy will need” (“time, 2013”).
Secondly, Employers find it hard to employ university graduates who do not possess the required skills set, technical training and are found incapable of speaking the English language fluently. In addition, they do not have soft skills and cannot solve problems creatively (“time, 2013”). American students do not face language difficulties as English in case of many students is their first language and they are taught to handle problems creatively by their teachers from the initiation of their education.
Thirdly, due to strict political system, students are not free to write, discuss or comment on the political issues. Students cannot openly ask or develop opinions about the Chinese government and cannot understand the reason behind some decisions which the government takes. This hinders their knowledge and incapacitates them from learning about important moves, strategies or logic behind decisions taken by the government. In contrast, American students are allowed to discuss or write on any issue they find unreasonable and if they came up with reasons to support their points on negative aspects or decisions of government they are rewarded with better grades (“time, 2013”).
Finally, in China students go through highly focused testing standards whereas American students have to face exactly the opposite of it. Chinese students need to prepare for nationwide multi-day examination called "Gaokao". The result is the sole determinant of student’s application for college and best scores are the only way to get in college of your choice. To apply for American college, the basic requirements are SAT’s scores of the student and many other factors which also includes personal interview of the student (“Huffingtonpost, 2010”).
Firstly, allow students to apply for colleges and choose their major subjects on the basis of their interest. At present, Chinese students apply for their majors at the age of 18, similar to PhD student’s application for post graduate courses in United States after which they study the major subject for the next 4 years. In case they are rejected from the academic department they chose, student is not allowed to join the university (“forbes, 2010”).
Secondly, Colleges and Universities need to start working in proximity with companies like Intel and Microsoft to develop their work study programs and academic curriculum. It is important for the students that they learn with practical examples rather than theoretical knowledge. Students should be taught to upgrade their thinking and creative skills rather than go by the book and follow instructions (“forbes, 2010”).
Thirdly, Universities of China have to ensure students learn and understand what they are being taught to develop ability to think critically. They need to move on from learning by memorizing and giving lectures with reading and without any discussion on the topics. Increase the classroom interaction and grading should not be based only on the bases of MCQs (“forbes, 2010”).
Fourthly, Graduate students of China have to spend their time teaching which will improve the instructions and standards at university level. With a better trained and knowledgeable group of teaching students, teachers will have less work load and the class sizes will decrease. This will help teachers to conduct classroom sessions for debates, discussions and presentations which will help in developing students’ skill set (“forbes, 2010”).
Finally, Chinese school system needs to pull away from their Society based curriculum design which revolves around the expectation of society and start to work around a child centered approach which will help in the developing learning skills of the students. Under child centered approach, students gravitate themselves for self-fulfillment, focus on the aspects of curriculum they want to and avoid learning things for which they carry no or less interest (Chinadaily, 2012).
Conclusion
Universities of China cannot recruit from outside for the sake of international prominence. They have to do much more than just training their students for thinking out of box which hurts competitiveness of China at the international stage, to ensure the graduates are capable enough to be employed by domestic as well international companies,. It is necessary to conduct education research for examination of assessment practices, teacher skills development and context which will result in improving the education standard’s quality and promotion of equity between Chinese and American students.
Works Cited
Rein, S. “Where China Needs Most To Improve”. http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/23/china-education-reform-leadership-careers-rein.html. forbes.com. 23 Mar. 2010. Web. 15 Dec. 2013
Li, Y. Whalley, J. Zhao, X & Zhang, S. “China’s higher education transformation and its global implications”. http://www.voxeu.org/article/china-s-higher-education-transformation. voxeu.org. 18 Apr 2008. Web. 15 Dec. 2013
“China Needs American Education. Here's How to Bring It There”. http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2012/06/20/china-needs-american-education-heres-how-to-bring-it-there/. forbes.com. 20 Jun. 2012. Web. 15 Dec. 2013
Faroohar, R. “China: Just as Desperate for Education Reform as the U.S.”. http://business.time.com/2013/06/27/china-just-as-desperate-for-education-reform-as-the-u-s/#ixzz2nTmxoY1y. time.com. 27 Jun. 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2013
Thomas, S. “A road to education system reform”. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2012-11/05/content_15873202_2.htm. chinadaily.com.cn. 5 Nov. 2012. Web. 15 Dec. 2013
