Focus
Scams rampant in private colleges
By Wang Wei and Zhao Jingting (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-23 10:39
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Declining student numbers force private schools to resort to underhandmethods to survive
Private colleges in Beijing are no longer beating the drum about their ambition to become the Harvard of China or the cradle of China's best talent. Faced with dwindling numbers of applicants, most have made survival their only goal. Some have even resorted to swindles and scams in order to survive.
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 A student of Beijing Geely University stands in front of an enrollment banner at the private college. Wang Jing / China Daily
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A teacher with Beijing City University, a private-turned-public university, told METRO, on condition of anonymity, that cheating and making false promises are a common practice when it comes to student recruitment at private colleges.
Some colleges that had been stripped of the right to run a school even continued to enroll students, she said.
"Some of the private colleges tell students that the degree they offer is recognized by China's education authority, when actually it isn't," she added.
A 21-year-old freshman, Qiu Chupeng, from Beijing Huaxia Management College, told METRO that he studied at the school because it set up a recruitment office in his hometown Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, last September.
He said they claimed that the TED Huaxia School of Management in Singapore was a big shareholder in the college and that the textbooks and tutorial system were similar to the Singaporean school.
They also informed the students that they would receive certification from both the Beijing Huaxia Management College and the Huaxia School of Management in Singapore and that the certificates were both ratified by the education authorities. They also guaranteed every student a job, Qiu said.
However, on its website, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education blacklisted the school stating that it was banned from recruiting students for a year because their teaching activities were no longer linked with the Singapore college. All the diplomas awarded are on longer recognized by the education authority, according to the website.
"Now, I realize they could never realize their promises," Qiu said.
Ding Guangju, vice-president of Beijing Huangpu College, told METRO that many students who studied at private colleges don't receive a diploma recognized by the educational authorities.
According to figures released by the Development and Planning Office of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education, in 2008 Beijing had 367,603 students who were studying at 60 private tertiary institutions.
Last July, the commission circulated a notice criticizing the wrongdoings of 25 private colleges.
Beijing Geely University assured students in its recruitment pamphlet that the 70 majors it offered were bachelor degrees, but the degrees had never been ratified by the education commission, according to the notice.
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One insider told METRO that some private schools were willing to pay a teacher several thousand yuan or more if he or she successfully persuaded a student to study at the school.
Such scams and deception are the result of vicious competition for the already shrinking market, educators suggest.
Huang Zhenqi, president of the Aviation Tourism college of Beijing Economic and Technical Vocational School, said in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) that students who failed the university entrance exam are the major target for private colleges' recruitment.
He said 10.5 million students sat in the national exam in 2008 and 4.51 million failed.
Other educators believe lack of professional faculty and the poor competitiveness of students graduating from private colleges in the
job market were the primary reasons for the dropping number of students.
Tao Xiping, president of the China Association of Private Education said that tighter controls were needed to regulate private colleges and prevent malpractice. Cooperation between private and public colleges should also be encouraged, he said.
However, he argued that, "Private education, as a product of the market economy and education reform, is a vital force to produce market-oriented talents. Government as well as society should encourage its development."
