D
THE CHINA MAÏL DOUBLE TENTH SUPPLEMENT
CHINA'S EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS
URING the last two or
three years, the people and Government of China have been confronted with general economic de pression and such calamities as great drought and food, to say nothing of its external difficulties. Given such а situation, one would wonder whether educational work could progress at all; and a pessimistic view of its imme diate future may probably prevail, writes Dr. Wang Shih-chieh, Minister of Edu- cation, in the China Press,
Fortunately, the facts are not so discouraging. Of all large- scale public undertakings in China, education seems to have acquired a capacity to grow in adversity. The growth though moderate so far in some pects, has been continuous, as shown by the increase of schools and continued upward move of educational budgets, both - nat- ional and local.
res-
In speaking of the outlook of education i
in China. we may be gin with the universities, which
have undergone great changes between 1929 and 1935. By a beginning series of measures with the laws and regulations in 1929, which have been enforced with uninterrupted vigour, this part of the educational work is beginning to produce the desir ed effect as regards discipline. equipment and administration in the universities. With or- derly administration and secure finance. the majority of the uni- versities have been free, from other cares during recent years, and have had only one single concern, the promotion of know- ledge and learning.
A university may be defined as an institution of higher edu- cation or the seat of learning... But the Chinese educational law: gives it a more concrete defini-. tion. According to the law of
The above picture was taken at the Alice Memorial Hospital on October 10, 1888, and shows a group of students of the Hong Kong College Hospital. Reading from left to right are MessTS. Teung Hok Ling. Sun Yat Sen (later President of China), Chan Kwai Shak, Kwan Sam Yin and Yau Lit. Dr. Kwan is still in practice in the Colony. (Photo by A. Fong).
1929, a university is defined as an institution which has at least three colleges, оле of which must be of pure science or ap plied science.
is
more students are turning to the study of natural science. pure and applied. Prior to 1934, the uni- versities took in annually more students for arts. and social science than for natural, science, pure and applied; but the sit- uation began to be reversed since the summer of the afore- said year.
One of the immed- :ate hopes of the universities is that the work of the graduates. whether
as secondary school teachers or as technicians and research workers, will be great-
This emphasis on science due to obvious reasons, it is the basis of modern life and know- ledge; and the applied science in its many branches is so im- portant for the economic recons- truction of the country. There is nó intention to favour science at the expense of social science and literature, but all care must be taken to see that the claimsly improved. and value of science are fully recognised in China. It is for this reason that the Ministry of Education has been paying much attention for the improve- ment of science instruction in the universities.
Recently, a wholesome ten- dency is showing itself in that
Closely connected with the encouragement of science in-. struction is the promotion of post-graduate research in the universities. The provisional.
- regulations for the organisation of post-graduate research were issued by the ministry in 1934.. The general requirements
are
ample financial provisions, com- petent research staff and ade- quate laboratory and library equipment: otherwise these re- gulations leave the universit- les much freedom to develop their research according to their special facilities and tradition.
As a number of students go annually- abroad for further study and research, it will be noted that the Government's policy in this respect has un- dergone some important chan- ges during recent years, in "re quiring that generally only graduates of universities. in- dependent colleges and techni- cal schools be allowed to study abroad, whether they
̈on their own means or on Govern- ment fellowships. In the case of the latter, two years' work or research after graduation in China is often required and they are selected after a very sear ching competitive examination.
10
The spirit of research has been very much enhanced in China during recent years, as is evidenced by the activities of such learned societies as the Academia Sinica. These in turn assist the development of university research. and have the further advantage of con- centrating on subjects in which they are particularly interested. The learned societies have been assisted in their work by the basic training that university instruction has given to the large number of their workers in every branch of learning and ̧ science.
Another fundamental problem in education in China at pre- sent concerns the equalisation and extension of educational op- portunities. To this problem a great deal of attention has been paid. The equalisation of op- portunities is one of the basic assumptions of modern democra- tic society and its application in education means the removal of obstructions that stand in the
YOUR SON'S
CAREER
AVIATION-
The most rapidly growing industry of to-day.
Complete courses for training as pilots or engineers.
All training given on modern BRITISH AIRCRAFT and ENGINES.
For prospectus, apply:-
THE FAR EAST FLYING TRAINING SCHOOL, LTD.
Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong.
Telephone 59282.