Pitfalls of an unfettered net

One media report described the Lanxiang school campus thus: "A 300-mu base (1 mu is roughly 666.7 square meters), rugged and muddy ground and dilapidated structures surrounded by deserted fishponds and pigsties ... It is more like a site scattered with hundreds of excavators rather than a school district."

The journalist covering the story seems to have forgotten some basic facts - for a vocational school that offers practical excavation technologies, a rugged ground is best suited for trainees to learn and practice the skills and technologies.

As head of the school, Rong should abide by the law and act as a role model. For allegations on Rong's personal life and behavior, such as holding multiple identity cards and having children more than allowed by State policies, the police and other related departments should intervene and investigate, so as to either clear him of false accusations or prove his wrongdoings and enforce law against any offense to be found out.

Whatever the result, the vocational school should be put under an efficient management and sustained operation in answer to market demands.

So far, no one has offered any sound evidence to prove the charges leveled against Lanxiang by netizens. But still, the technical school which expanded both in size and business at an astounding pace now faces a "public crisis", which Rong says will cost it 180 million yuan ($29.4 million) by the end of this Spring Festival, which falls in early February next year.

At a time when many college graduates are struggling to find a job, the fact that employers line up at Lanxiang to recruit its graduates speaks volume of its training and education methods.

Given the stereotype that traditional university graduates are superior to technical school graduates, vocational education has developed too slowly in China to fill the huge gap in the demand for and supply of technical talents. This has prompted the country's policymakers to expedite the shift from college education to vocational training in a bid to meet the growing demand for skilled workers.

Since the Lanxiang technical school admits 30,000 trainees from across the country, 85 percent of whom come from rural areas and lack financial and/or academic means for college education, it should be seen as promoting this policy shift.

As a training center that has grown from the grassroots, Lanxiang school may face problems in the process of its development, including its extensive development model and not-so-perfect management. But these cannot negate its huge contribution to the country's skilled labor market. Therefore, it is time to stop the unfounded charges against the vocational school and grant it time and space for self-development and self-improvement.

The author is a senior writer at China Daily. wuyixue@chinadaily.com.cn

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