Higher Education in China

past and present

The Number of Students in Chinese Schools 1978 - 2005

0

15,000,000

30,000,000

45,000,000

60,000,000

75,000,000

90,000,000

105,000,000

120,000,000

135,000,000

150,000,000

elementary school students

junior middle school students

high school students

college students

The Number of College Students in China 1949 - 2005

0

2,000,000

4,000,000

6,000,000

8,000,000

10,000,000

12,000,000

14,000,000

16,000,000

GaoKao

• National College Entrance Examination

• abolished during the Cultural Revolution

• Deng Xiaoping’s decision in 1977– “without grasping science and education, the

Four Modernizations would have no hope”– restored College Entrance Examination– like an “atomic bomb”, especially among the

sent-down youths

Prepare for GaoKao

GaoKao subjects

• Everyone has to take exams in Chinese, mathematics, and English

• Arts students also have to take exams in politics, history, and geography

• Sciences students also have to take physics, chemistry, and biology

3 days of GaoKao

• everyone has to give way

3 days of GaoKao

• nothing stops it– … not even SARS

the lucky ones

… so why do they join the PartyParty ...

indeed two separate questions:

What incentive do theythey have in joining the Party?

What incentive does the PartyParty have in recruiting them?

First: their incentives ...

… and so many others’

UndergraduateStudents

GraduateStudents

Total 5,506,000 271,000

CCP members 209,000 76,000

% CCP members 3.8% 28.2%

CCP Members in Chinese Universities

A survey of university students

Sample: 2,063 students at 18 Shanghai universities in 1988

Question: Some of your friends have joined the Party, others are striving to do so. What is your observation and understanding of this?

They believe in Communism and want to make a contribution

4% They think the Party is good and are joining in order to

be further educated10%

In reality they want a “Party card” which they can use as capital to receive future benefits

59%

… and see what some 5th graders say ...

“We all want to join the Party. This is because you can get promotions when you are a Party member. You can have power when you are promoted. And with power you can become rich. None of the Party members in our village is now poor”.

What are their real incentives ...

Materialistic gains rather than ideological doctrines

A professor of political science in Hong Kong: “the young generation now joined the Party like young professionals join the Lions Club or Rotary Club to establish business ties.”

Ever More Competitive Job Market for College Graduates

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

freshmen class graduating class

student Party members

• advantage in job market, especially for positions in government agencies or state-owned enterprises

future political career

• Party membership plus college education are necessary conditions for political advancement

… but there are different voices ...

A student in Beijing: “I cannot be bothered, there are more ways to succeed now. One can go abroad, or work for a private enterprise, or foreign companies.”

A folk rhyme in Hubei Province: “Each tills their field, and each makes their money: who cares whether you’re a Party member or not?”

Study Abroad

• From 1978 through 2004

• 814,884 have gone to study abroad– 114,663 in the year 2004– The number has been decreasing since

September 11, 2001

• 197,884 have returned– 25,116 in the year 2004– The annual number has been increasing fast

Urban Employment 1978 - 2003

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000

1978 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

10,0

00 e

mp

loye

es

household

foreign

HK, Macau, TW

private

joint-stock

limited liability company

joint ventures

limited partnership

collective

state-owned

Second: the PartyParty’s incentives ...

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Party’s recruitment strategies emphasized class origin.

Peasants and workers were especially welcome, but intellectuals were not.

It’s all changed since the late 1970s ...

since Deng Xiaoping started the reforms in the late 1970s, the Chinese Communist Party has staked its legitimacy on economic performance more than anything else.

To get rich is glorious!

To achieve the ambitious economic development goals, the Party desperately needs youth and talent.

The “Three Represents theory”

Jiang Zemin:“Our Party … has always represented the development requirements of China’s advanced social productive forces”

Party recruitment of talents

• The secretary of a local Party committee: “The Party is the leader of our country’s economic construction, and first of all we need excellent people from all professions”.

• In 1990, 0.8% of all undergraduate students were CCP members; in 2000, Party members constitute 3.8% of all under-graduate students.

Party recruitment of adult population

Years of School Education

Party itself has also changed ...