Whether the myth of 'industrializing' education will end
By admin on 2014-12-22

Recently in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, a "global business elite junior MBA class" was founded in a middle school for students with successful parents, including a coal mine boss, the CEO of a food company and a real estate developer.

The annual school fee is 70,000 yuan ($10,250), and the syllabus is uniquely designed, including ancient Chinese literature, etiquette, physical education and cooking. The students are preparing to study abroad, rather than take China's national college entrance examination.

In this situation, education is like a product in a supermarket – one can take away whatever one wishes from the shelves, and the only thing that matters is money.

The year 2004 was once touted as witnessing "the end of China's myth of industrializing education." Beihang University was caught charging 100,000 yuan ($14,643) for a certificate of education, a scandal that enraged the public. Zhang Baoqing, then vice minister of education, said at the time that "the Ministry of Education has been against the industrialization of education, which will lead to the perishing of education."

The statement was interpreted by the media as a signal indicating "the change of wind direction of China's educational reform." However, that change didn't actually take place.

Since the 1990s, China's educational development has been essentially guided by two principles – "development prioritized over reform" and "assessing development purely from the financial perspective."

During this wave of utility-oriented development, schools tried every possible means to expand their "educational business" – constructing more buildings, enrolling more students and collecting extra fees. The founding of the junior MBA class in Chengdu is just another way to generate greater profits.

Under the domination of business logic and economic rhetoric, the due rules and values of education have been missed. In other words, there's no guarantee of educational fairness when the distribution of educational resources is completely directed by the baton of the market.

One typical scene in China is that the second generation of the wealthy may sit in a small class and enjoy elite teachers, whereas rural kids read "Chinglish" loudly after a fresh college graduate. Some children in western China don't even have the opportunity to receive basic education since they cannot afford it.

With the widening gap between different social classes, the dualistic structure of education in urban and rural areas or for rich and poor students may become more divided.

The solution is to strengthen the governmental macro-control of education and balance the distribution of resources.
More funds should be allocated to schools in China's central and western regions, so that the students there won't stare at a computer with wide eyes in this era of digital technology. State grants and student loans should be appropriately enhanced so college fees will not be impossibly expensive.

The industrialization of education has proven to be a joke, one that has jeopardized educational fairness. Education is the greatest tool for achieving social justice and it should be guaranteed to every member of society, not just those with money.