The Chronicle: Chinese University Presidents Assail ‘Rock Bottom’ Academic Ethics
Presidents of some of China’s top universities lashed out at the country’s worsening academic corruption, putting the blame on what they called an illogical focus on research and falling ethical standards, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.
“Over all, academic ethics have hit rock bottom,” Zhu Qingshi, president of the University of Science and Technology of China, told Chinese and foreign university leaders who were taking part on Friday in a weeklong Chinese-Foreign University Presidents’ Forum in Shanghai.
In a rare example of sharp public criticism of the government’s higher-education policies, Mr. Zhu said most Chinese graduate students were so desperate to attain their quota of published papers that they often missed opportunities to engage in real research. Chinese universities require master’s and Ph.D. candidates to publish a set number of research papers each year in key journals.
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