Chinese universities should focus on training more skilled workers, said Peking University Vice President Hai Wen at the University President's International Forum in Chengdu, according to the China Youth Daily.

Hai Wen, vice president of Peking University in this file photo.

Hai said universities emphasize theoretical education and don't train skilled workers. As China becomes an industrialized society, universities should not only educate researchers and managers, but also train skilled workers to support new industries. 

Hai pointed out that most universities offer majors based on teacher and professor resources, not on social needs. Most majors focus on theory and lack practical applications. As a result, universities lag behind in economic reform, according to Hai.

Presidents and specialists from 50 universities were invited to take part in the forum sponsored by Sichuan University on August 26.

University of Science and Technology of China President Zhu Qingshi agreed with Hai, adding that most universities don't have enough teachers and have insufficient facilities, even though enrollment rates are as high as they have ever been.

Both presidents said that junior community colleges in the United States, which were established to help citizens find jobs after WWII, provide a good example of how China could produce more blue-collar workers.

Hai said students attach little value to China's junior colleges, while in the US junior community colleges have lower tuitions, are easily accessible, provide more job opportunities for graduates, and comprise 41 percent of the country's 3,000 post-secondary educational facilities.

But only 31 percent of netizens support Hai£¬according to statistics posted on sina.com, believing that if universities took on the job of trade schools, not only would skilled workers be better trained, they would also have the same status as white collar workers, which, as pillars of society, is something they deserve.

Sixty five percent of netizens opposed Hai, believing that training blue collar workers is a task for trade schools, as it would be a waste of time and money for students to pay high tuition fees to attend university to end up with a blue collar job.

Still others said universities should focus on the needs of society, and if various schools are responsible for different tasks, and then students of all levels can be trained to meet the needs of society.