Our Desk | Silent exchange program

Julie Zhu

ifty-nine mainland universities are currently attracting local students through a direct admission program which will exempt students from taking an entrance examination. In other words, good grades to enter these schools are not required if interested students wish to further their education at these schools.

Let us reflect upon another fact. Last year, in mainland China, 9.4 million high school students applied for the Gaokao, the national college entrance exam. Only the best of the best students (in general, measured in terms of performance in school exams) out of this number will enroll in the “top” universities in mainland China.

A small number of mainland students won’t take the Gaokao (and some won’t even take the exams) because they have already been recommended to enroll in a top school. However, it is remarkable how small this number is: in a city with a population of around four million people, only five students at most are recommended for the top schools. Keep in mind that they are the ones considered to be the “best” students.

In Shandong province, one of the largest source of students for mainland universities, only 214 “good” students were recommended, in 2016, to go through the direct admission program, which is now being promoted in town. As of 2014, Shandong province has a total population of 9.789 million, according to the National Bureau Statistics of China.

This year, Macau, through the direct admission program, offers 930 vacancies to its students to study in the mainland. Macau has an estimated population of 646,800, as of 2015.

Shandong’s number of recommended students accounts for 23.7 percent of the number of students recommend by Macau, despite the fact that Shandong’s population is 15.1 times that of Macau.

The latest news says that 604 local students have been accepted by mainland schools.

On the other hand, local universities are recruiting a tremendous number of mainland students to study here. While some schools survive on their students’ tuition fees, others appear not to have enough students to fill up their classrooms, and are desperately in need of them.

The city’s universities don’t rank well internationally when compared to mainland universities.

That said, can this exchange program lead Macau to achieve anything? In my opinion, no. Citing a local report, a teacher from Jiang University responsible for the enrollment process said that Macau students are confident, open-minded, and have their own stances towards current affairs.

While many Western readers may not relate to this, it is, however, a completely accurate remark from my perspective.

Therefore, why would such a great number of Macau students spend four years having their confidence eroded, building their ignorance, or fertilizing spiritual victories?

The “exchange program” does indeed bring many benefits for mainland students. By coming to Macau, they learn what it is like to be in another Chinese community different from the mainland.

If Macau is truly desperate to train what they often term “local talents”, more opportunities in Macau should be created for students to take advantage of.

More investments should be made in Macau in order to create really talented students.

I am not opposed to allowing students to see the rest of the world, I’m just concerned about some of the negative impacts.