University must focus on intellect
China Daily  Updated: 2005-11-16 06:58

Leadership capability can only be cultivated through complicated social environments and personal experience, not just a few years of university education, says an article in Qilu Evening News. An excerpt:

A few days ago, a top official at Peking University announced that the school would make an important change to its postgraduate cultivation model. In recruiting postgraduates, the school would pick candidates with leadership potential, to cultivate for the country more innovative persons with leadership abilities, he said.

This decision is a puzzling one.

It is known that a person's ability to develop leadership skills is decided by many factors, such as his or her abilities of organization, co-ordination, and decision-making, as well as charisma. All these qualities cannot be completely cultivated in an ivory tower-like school environment, without considering his or her social experience and development opportunities.

From a global perspective, how many prominent leaders in their fields, politicians or enterprise bosses, learnt everything through a university education?

Some argue that Yale University is a successful example. The school has been called the cradle of American presidents. However, it is also an undeniable fact that in Yale's history, there have been five Nobel Prize winners and many graduates winning other prizes. The university's literature, music and drama education has been US frontrunner. Leaders form only a small proportion of its numerous prominent graduates.

Peking University's education model is too unitary. Given it has at its disposal the best-quality education resources in the country, it is unfair to keep some excellent postgraduates out of its door just because they lack "leadership potentials."

It is a big loss to Peking University if it refuses to enrol students with possibly lower leadership quality but higher academic talents. The century-old school should not stray from its original liberal and academic spirit.

(China Daily 11/16/2005 page4)

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