Lack of oversight at universities has created breeding ground for graft

Only by decentralizing decision-making powers can China eradicate corruption at universities that has tarnished the reputation of higher education, specialists and lawmakers said.

At the just-concluded National People's Congress, Premier Li Keqiang reiterated the central government's "zero tolerance" stance against graft, and members of the NPC and Chinese People's Political Consultative Congress have called for stricter scrutiny and tougher supervision.

"If the news of corruption involving college officials continues making headlines, the hard-won social trust in our education system will collapse. Effective measures must be taken immediately," Zhong Binglin, CPPCC member and president of the Chinese Society of Education, said in an interview during the two sessions.

Appointed by higher-level governments rather than being elected, most college presidents, deans and admissions officials hold absolute power over key processes, including campus construction, enrollment and the allocation of research funds.

A lack of oversight has created a breeding ground for bribery, critics say.

At least five university presidents stepped down in 2013 after being investigated on corruption charges.

Chen Yingxu, a former professor at Zhejiang University, was sentenced to 10 years in jail by the Intermediate People's Court of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in January for embezzling more than 9 million yuan ($1.46 million) of research funds by fabricating receipts and contracts.

In late December, Chu Jian, Zhejiang University's then-vice-principal, was investigated for allegedly misappropriating State-owned assets.

An Xiaoyu, who served as vice-president of Southwest China's Sichuan University, was reportedly investigated following charges of corruption related to the construction of new campus buildings.

Among other notable high officials facing corruption investigations is Cai Rongsheng, who served as head of admissions at Renmin University in Beijing. Authorities launched a probe into allegations that Cai sold university admissions.

A decision-making system with multiple stakeholders - something like school boards overseas - should be introduced to balance the current centralized leadership of Chinese colleges, along with proper supervision and accountability mechanisms, deputies and delegates said.

"Laws and regulations should be set up to urge universities to accept more members representing different interests in the decision-making process. Every coin spent and every personal appointment should earn approval before implementation, and records must be kept for public review," Zhong, the educator and CPPCC member, said.

Gong Ke, an NPC deputy and principal of Nankai University in Tianjin, agreed with Zhong, suggesting the establishment of an independent admissions committee.

"If teachers, students, parents and third-party inspectors could participate in student enrollment, the possibility of admission officials abusing powers would be limited and decisions would be fairly made," Gong said.

According to the Ministry of Education, 90 high-profile universities are allowed to run independent admissions systems - separate from the State-mandated national college entrance examination, or gaokao - to recruit talented students who didn't do well in the gaokao but who excel in fields like art and sports. The systems use both written tests and interviews.

Given the huge demand for admission to top colleges, wealthy and resourceful parents sometimes buy places for their children by bribing university officials, according to Xinhua reports. A bribe once cost 20,000 yuan ($3,255) to 30,000 yuan for a college admission, but the price has now risen to 1 million yuan, Xinhua said.

In addition to Gong's proposal to create admission committees, Ge Jianxiong, CPPCC member and reform promoter with Fudan University in Shanghai, said guaranteeing transparency in the procedure is an important element.

"Admission procedures should be made public. Information like admission rules, results and rankings of tests and qualified students' profiles should be available to the public. Any violation should be strictly punished," Ge said.

Meanwhile, experts warned that anti-corruption efforts should also target university infrastructure development and equipment purchases.

"Building infrastructure usually involves large amounts of money and the decision-maker in this field could be open to bribery," said Zhou Guangquan, a member of NPC's law committee and a professor in criminal law at Tsinghua University.

Zhou said that it's crucial to implement public bidding and tendering systems, with proper monitoring from professional audit services.

Ge, of Fudan University, said that all public expenditures, including salaries of officials and faculty members, investments in facilities and research spending should be open for public review and audit checks.

Contact the writers at sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn and luowangshu@chinadaily.com.cn