Editorials

Academic merit

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-09 07:42

Apart from scientific excellence, integrity should also be equally venerated by the nation's top academicians.

An academic at, say, the prestigious Chinese Academy of Sciences or the Chinese Academy of Engineering should desist from chasing after titles that have the potential of being abused for economic gain.

As such, a proposal by some academicians - during the ongoing national congress of academicians - that top academicians be disallowed from taking on too many positions or from attending ceremonial functions, is bold as well as timely.

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Of late, some academicians have caused quite a scandal by lending their names to academic papers that were, in fact, plagiarized. Some have even taken on too many positions for extra monetary reward.

Titles only call attention to the contributions and academic achievements of their bearers in a particular field. They should never be used as a badge for cadging economic benefits.

It is true that some organizations or government departments invite academicians to stamp authority on their programs.

The same is true of academia, where some tend to "use" the names of prominent mavens to lend heft to their research papers or books. Yet, these only serve as ornamentation to the academic, and is an affront to his position.

Academicians should realize that lending their fair names to such endeavors would only debase them. This will not only stall research, but also prevent them from becoming role models for other academics.

(China Daily 06/09/2010 page8)