From the Readers

More exchanges needed in education

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-04-27 13:20

Comment on “China pushing to be Asia's top draw on students” (China Daily website on April 25)

Apart from science, technical, and vocational studies, there is also a need to promote education in ideology, humanities, psychology, arts and sociology. Such studies are not about the right or wrong way of thinking, which system is good or bad, as Western education is structured.

Definitely the Western nations have their own agenda. This is where China can rise to be different. China should allow education to argue all types of systems, sociology including religion.

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From such debate China may discover something better. Keeping the lid on it won't help since people will still argue about them.

Hence we might as well let it come to the surface. The more people who argue about it in a systematically and orderly, civilized manner, the less likely it is people will become violent.

China can aim to prepare her people with in-depth impartial understanding so as to be able to adapt to the ever changing environment by matching challenges with the correct solutions.

This is intelligence not violence. Qualitative factors are quite important to any society.

Apart from conducting exchanges with renowned education institutions, China also needs to have certain exchanges with selected neighboring education institutions especially those in Central Asia, India, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and Korea.

If Tsinghua and Peking University are already making exchanges with some other top universities in US and Europe, universities such as Wuhan, Fudan, Jilin, Xi'an, Renmin can have exchanges with universities from neighboring regions. By promoting greater exchanges amongst the region, the people in this region will be able to communicate better.

Sporting events in league form can be organized amongst these universities to enrich communication. Student interactions during the education phase can lead to greater collaboration when they step into the career arena.

Asian on China Daily website

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