China's doctoral-level education has developed quickly in recent decades. But an emphasis on expanding the number of doctoral students has brought some problems, which demand a change in the management style of our educational policy.

Since 1980 when the nation established its academic degree management system, China has achieved great progress in post-graduate education, including the fostering of doctoral students, in terms of both scale and quality.

In recent years in particular, the number of students has increased rapidly. In 2000, 25,142 doctorate students were enrolled, but that number leaped to 53,096 last year.

Now, the overall number of doctoral students in China has reached 143,500, making the country one of the world's largest bases for doctoral education.

The rapid expansion of China's doctoral student enrolment has, however, led to some problems, one of which is how to ensure the quality of education.

Striking a balance between quantity and quality has become a major concern for policy-makers. To that end, changes should be made in many areas.

In deciding the scale of doctoral student enrolment, such factors as social demand, the number of advisors and the infrastructure of universities must be taken into consideration.

The numbers should, first of all, depend on the fostering capacity of higher education institutions and social demand. Even in developed countries such as the United States, policy-makers do not want a rapid expansion of doctoral education. US doctoral education is the largest in the world. In the past decade, on average about 40,000 doctoral students graduate in the United States every year.

But as said, China enrolled 53,096 doctoral students last year. Considering the fact that few doctoral students fail to get their degrees in China, it is predicted the number of graduates will surpass that of the United States.

Moreover, there are only two US universities that confer more than 700 doctoral degrees every year. The University of California at Berkeley, the largest doctoral education centre, grants about 750 doctoral degrees every year.

In contrast, many Chinese universities have each enrolled more than 1,000 doctoral students. The highest figure is 1,400.

The aim of doctoral education should be to produce high-calibre specialists and is vastly different from master degree and undergraduate education. The rapid expansion of doctoral education may affect the quality of doctorates.

It may also make it hard for doctoral degree holders to find an appropriate job and could result in the phenomenon of "high degree, low employment," or even redundancy.

As the highest level of educational system, doctoral education reflects the quality of a country's higher learning and scientific research. The gap between China's higher learning and that of developed countries is mirrored by the gap in the quality of doctoral education.

Improving quality is the key to China's doctoral education.

To ensure quality, the number of doctorate students should correspond to the money the country spends on scientific research.

In 2001, China invested 104.25 billion yuan (US$12.56 billion) in scientific research and development, accounting for less than 5 per cent of national research funding in the United States and less than 10 per cent in Japan.

Moreover, funding for basic research, which is closely related to doctoral education, takes about 5 per cent of the overall scientific research budget in China. In developed countries, such as the United States and Japan, the rate generally ranges from 15 to 20 per cent.

Given the yawning gap in funding, it is hard for China to maintain the quality of doctoral education if it has a similar number of doctoral students to developed countries.

Another problem in China's doctoral education is the shortage of advisors.

In 2003, there were 24,204 advisors. On average, every advisor directed five doctoral students. In 2000, that number was three.

About two-thirds of doctoral advisors also direct master graduate students. Directing so many students takes a lot of time and energy.

Furthermore, the number of projects that require high-calibre researchers is limited. As a result, some doctoral students have to engage in low-level research projects.

Measures should be taken to further improve the quality of doctoral education.

Faculty development and the enrolment of doctoral students should be strengthened. Standards for granting doctoral degrees should be enhanced. The credit system for doctoral students should be made more flexible. And a freer academic environment should be promoted to encourage scientific innovation.

As the scale of doctoral education expands, the public purse, which is the main sponsor of China's State-financed doctoral education, has felt increasing pressure. As a result, some doctoral students, or those "within the State educational plan," are exempt from tuition, while others, so-called " out of plan" students, have to pay their tuition.

In 2004, more than 40 per cent of China's full-time doctoral students and almost all part-time doctoral students had to pay.

This dual funding system affects students' enthusiasm and goes against the rule of equitable education. It should be reformed.

Doctoral education is not compulsory education and its costs should be shared among beneficiary parties, namely, the State, the employer and the students themselves. This abides by the higher education law that students of higher education should pay tuition in accordance with State regulations.

Once a tuition-sharing system is in place, students will no longer be divided into "planned" and " out of plan" groups. This would be conducive to the management of doctoral students and promote the healthy development of doctoral education.

The financial assistance system, meanwhile, must be improved. A research, teaching, and administrative assistant system should be established to ensure students are properly financed. Scholarships and State educational loans should also be made available.

(China Daily April 26, 2005)