The graduate recruitment expansion in Chinese universities has led to a
"professor crunch" with "overloaded" teaching staff and bewildered students.
The ratio of professors to graduates in east China's Jiangsu Province, which
is traditionally known for its abundant talent, stood at 1:7.74 in 2003, figures
from the local education authority show.
Teachers of highly desired majors may actually supervise 20 to 30 students.
And enrollment is still expanding. China will see 330,000 new graduates in
2004, up 22 percent from last year.
Critics compare the teacher-student ratio to a teapot and cups, doubting
whether one pot of tea can fill up to 30 cups.
Students complain they can only meet with their supervisors once every two or
three weeks, with the cry, "No tutoring received, only dissertation demanded".
"I've no idea about the orientation of my program. I've no ideahow to apply
the theory I have learned. I've no idea what job I can take after graduation,"
said a graduate identified as Zhang ina Jiangsu-based University.
Most of Zhang's predecessors in his program continued their studies in
doctoral programs, or post-doctoral programs. "It seemsto be the only way out,"
he said.
Professors responded that the practice was "totally messed up".
With limited time and overwhelming tasks, they are unable to give graduates
one-to-one tuition, raising concerns of a "production line" system producing
less competent graduates.
Ma Yuqian, a physics professor at Nanjing University, said he was "obliged"
to focus on the few who showed the greatest enthusiasm in lab research, while
devoting less attention to others. "It can't be helped."
The practice, however, is welcomed by some college teachers, who find it a
fast-track to becoming graduate supervisors, but with actually insufficient
academic background, as the number of professors fail to keep up with the
increasing number of students.
Others who hailed the practice are professors who use graduatesas "cheap
labor" in their money-making projects. They complain that they still have
potential to "supervise" more.
"Boss" has replaced "instructor" in the way students speak of teachers.
In January, nine doctoral students in a Shanghai-based university demanded a
change in their supervisor who ran a companyand had long ordered them to do
projects for him.
Education experts worry that the teaching shortage may lead professors to be
scattered disproportionately across the country, as nationwide competition for
quality professors heats up, with the booming eastern China proving to be more
attractive than less developed areas.
To retain professors, a university in west China, where the economy is less
developed, has proposed a full package with teaching post, including a house,
car, decent salary, advanced professional title, children's education and a job
for the spouse.
Xu Zimin, director of the graduate division of Jiangsu education department,
proposed that universities should promote the sharing of resources and draw
resources from society.
Meanwhile China should seek new ways to educate graduates, dividing the
graduate program into academic and professional tracks.
He held that the traditional "one-to-one instruction" may be applied to
graduates on the academic track, while the group project and teamwork strategy
would be used with graduates wantingto use their qualifications
professionally.
