Nobody has ever suggested an advanced academic degree will guarantee a high-ranking job in the government.

Nor do most degree-holders of integrity expect to discard their more familiar fields to tread the waters of unfamiliar "official circles."

But recent government recruitment announcements seem to be feeding the illusion that a doctoral degree is a shortcut to official positions.

This method of recruitment also serves to push some people to pursue higher academic qualifications for the sake of moving up the ranks of government.

On Monday, the Anhui provincial government placed an advertisement in the People's Daily, trumpeting its desire to fill top provincial and city government posts with the cream of the academic crop.

The 107 vacancies are open exclusively to doctorate holders, or those with at least two master's degrees, a local human resources official confirmed Tuesday.

In other words, apart from the very few who meet the academic specific criteria, others, no matter how competent or capable they may be, are denied the chance of even applying for a senior government position in Anhui.

The East China province is not the first in the country to be so demanding in its selection and promotion process.

In a flurry of recruitment in recent years aimed at improving governance, many provincial capitals, such as Wuhan and Zhengzhou in Central China, have made similar efforts to hire only those with multiple degrees, in their drive to select better candidates for government jobs.

In 2001 Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, set about drafting 150 doctorate holders to head municipal departments, according to a Xinhua report.

Such a trend is not only in vogue in different areas of the public service recruitment process, it has also become popular in recent years as private companies and enterprises set higher and higher benchmarks for recruits, shutting the door completely on undergraduates.

This type of recruitment affords undue importance to academic qualifications, neglecting the fact that in a changing society, the skills and knowledge of academics can quickly become outdated. Such a high demand by government and non-government employers for those with advanced degrees could have an adverse impact on society.

On the one hand, talented people with rich experiences are denied an opportunity to give full play to their ability simply because they lack the halo of higher education. On the other, it encourages people to blindly pursue or even forge advanced degrees.

Fortunately, enterprises and private companies which, from experience, have learnt that an advanced degree does not always translate into a competent employee have begun to change tack.

Government bodies should be reminded that "excellent talent" does not necessarily equate to having an advanced academic background. Neither are such applicants necessarily the best candidates for the job.

By giving opportunities to those with a string of academic accolades to their name, the employers may risk barring genuinely capable and competent candidates.

Many will argue that awarding posts to high-calibre, advanced degree holders may help expand the knowledge pool of the government and improve decision-making.

It also suggests an apparent show of respect for knowledge and talent, which the central government has been advocating.

After all, it is fairly safe to assume that people with advanced academic degrees are competent, or even at the leading edge in their fields.

And there are success stories of academics who turn out to be every bit as good civil servants as they are scholars.

But the odds are high that a large number of them, untrained for public service, will not make good public servants.

Practice has shown that when it comes to selecting a qualified candidate -- either for government or business, what really matters is not merely academic prowess.

Rather, the ability, competence and experience of the candidates is what counts.

Anhui Province is wise to add the provision to its advanced academic degree requirements by saying they want applications from those who have also worked as lower-ranking civil servants -- a signal that highlights the importance of experience and practical skills.

But insistence on its degree preconditions will bar candidates with experience from applying, despite the government's claim that its hiring procedures are fair, equitable and open.

It is more rational to factor in both the academic background and actual ability of applicants when hiring new government employees.

Doing so will also slow the trend of people pursuing advanced academic degrees, not for the sake of self-improvement, but for the purpose of enjoying the power and perks of government office.

(China Daily October 13, 2004)