Truth about talent

Even as the Ministry of Education envisages college education spreading further, reports of serious talent drain are pouring in.

The government provides the basic advanced training for the nation's top brains who then go abroad, bulk of them for good. Available statistics, since 1985, show that 80 percent of the graduates from the elite Tsinghua University's hi-tech majors have left for the United States. For Peking University, the figure is 76 percent.

It should not be like this, many are saying. Something must be done. Indeed, many of China's ambitious developmental plans may turn out to be wishful thinking without the backup of a decent pool of talent.

In fairness to the authorities, it must be said that they are not completely unaware of the demands of the situation. There are sporadic attempts at luring talent from abroad. Every once in a while, there are reports of Chinese institutions scouting overseas for talent with the promise of lucrative contracts.

Yet we remain a net exporter of young talent. Worse, the latest trend is that outgoing talent is getting even younger: While more and more high school graduates shun domestic colleges and seek enrollment overseas, a growing number of students are being sent directly to high schools abroad.

A rise in the number of citizens studying overseas is not bad per se. It is actually a cost-effective alternative given the less-than-desirable quality of higher education at home.

Citizens have the right to pursue advanced training or employment overseas. And, the authorities can do a lot to attract talent from overseas.

To date, the most favored formula of the authorities remains generous payouts. But, if an economic downturn like the present one cannot bring back talent in waves from foreign shores, then money alone cannot do the trick. If the authorities are serious about tapping the tremendous Chinese talent reserves abroad, they should first ask themselves: Do we have a talent-friendly environment?

If scholarship and profession-alism continue to kowtow to power, if colleges degenerate into the so-called "commonwealth of academic corruption", and if cheating remains the accepted shortcut to fame, then we cannot say "Yes".

Besides, there is the problem of discrimination against home-grown talent. The authorities' obsession with overseas talent is not just perplexing. It reveals a worrisome lack of respect for outstanding talent cultivated and nurtured by domestic institutions of higher learning. There remain huge numbers of truly talented people who have survived and excelled at home. While everything may be done to bring back the best of talent from abroad, it would be ridiculous if the talented at home are given the cold shoulder just because they have no foreign colors to flaunt.

(China Daily 07/22/2009 page8)