September 20, 2024
BEIJING – Just one year into her first job as a broadcasting and hosting teacher at Wuhan University of Communication, Ms Ran Sheng worries that she may have to look for new employment soon.
Some universities in China have cancelled broadcasting undergraduate majors similar to what she teaches, and the 26-year-old told The Straits Times she wonders if and when her course will be next.
“If I lose my job, I’ll first try to look for another broadcasting-related job. Or I may get another master’s degree,” said Ms Sheng, who graduated in 2023 from Harbin Normal University with a master’s degree in radio and TV broadcast.
Since 2023, Chinese universities have been cancelling existing majors and adding new ones in large numbers, in response to Beijing’s call to adapt academic disciplines to the country’s technological and strategic needs.
In 2023, 1,670 majors were cancelled, while 1,673 new majors were added, according to official statistics released by the Ministry of Education in March.
Another 48 majors were adjusted, in terms of the length of study and the categories they fall under.
In 2024, at least 19 Chinese universities have applied to withdraw or suspend enrolment in 99 majors. The final tally for 2024 will only be released by the ministry in 2025.
While universities routinely review their course offerings, Professor Xiong Bingqi, director of the Beijing-based 21st Century Education Research Institute think-tank, noted that the courses that were reviewed in 2023 is the largest batch to date as universities are now under an “intensive phase of adjustment”.
China’s central government in April 2023 announced a higher education reform plan calling for universities to better serve national strategies and promote regional economic, social and industrial development.
Under the plan, universities are to replace outdated majors that were deemed as not contributing to China’s economic and social development with new ones in line with new technologies and emerging sectors. The goal is to adjust 20 per cent of the university undergraduate majors across China by 2025.
There are 3,074 higher-educational institutions across the country, with more than 47.63 million students enrolled in 2023, official data showed.
In response to the call, Chinese universities are scrapping majors traditionally popular with students such as civil engineering and pushing towards emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data.
Tianjin University in August launched China’s first brain-computer interface undergraduate major, focusing on a technology that allows direct communication between the brain and an external device, such as a computer or a prosthetic limb.
This is a “disruptive technology” that represents a “critical frontier in global technological competition”, the university states on its website.
Another new major launched in the 2024 academic year is intelligent visual engineering at the Harbin Institute of Technology in north-eastern China, which offers skill sets applicable in areas such as aerospace, precision manufacturing and AI.
Mr Yu Shiwang, co-founder of Guangzhou-based Super Careerschool, a consultancy firm that advises students and parents on higher education and career-related matters, told ST that some majors have only undergone a facelift to keep pace with the times, instead of a fundamental rejig.
“Competition between universities is tough. To get the best and brightest students, schools may now add additional computer technology or programming elements to their current majors and give it a different name,” said Mr Yu.
“For instance, mechanical design engineering may now be called intelligent manufacturing. Parents see the word ‘intelligent’ or ‘AI’ and they feel it’s a better option for their kids in terms of future employment, but the foundation of the course is largely the same,” he said.
But 21st Century’s Prof Xiong cautioned that while the offering of AI-related majors is in line with the rapid development in this sphere, the quality of these new majors may be lacking, especially in universities that do not have such specialisations.
“Universities should consider whether the new major is aligned with the school’s mission and whether it has the resources to offer this course,” he said.
“Even if a major is considered unpopular, if it is a distinctive and specialised course by the school and cultivates the talents necessary for society, the school should continue offering it.”
In July, when Sichuan University in south-western China announced it was scrapping 31 majors, including music, insurance, animation, television studies and nuclear physics, it caught the attention of netizens on Chinese social media platforms.
It introduced just one new major in biomass technology and engineering, to replace a cancelled chemical engineering course.
People lamented that these once popular majors were now no longer in demand, with some blaming the changes in the job market.
Sichuan University did not respond to queries from ST.
Data analysis of cancelled majors between 2018 and 2022 by Xiaoqiang Media from Chongqing University’s School of Journalism and Communication found that engineering majors saw the most number of cuts at about 31 per cent, followed by management majors at about 18 per cent.
Science majors were next in line at almost 15 per cent and arts majors followed closely behind at nearly 14 per cent. Majors under the literature, economics, education, law, and agriculture categories were also cancelled, albeit forming a smaller proportion, the study showed.
Beyond keeping pace with national interests, the study suggested that low enrolment figures and employment prospects were also factors universities considered when deciding which majors to slash.
A second-year undergraduate student Fan Jiayue, 20, who studies administrative management at Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, said she understands why “softer” majors like hers are increasingly getting less popular. It is not easy to find a job when she graduates, so the cancellations come as no surprise to her, she said.
However, Ms Fan said she still picked her major as she has an interest in this field and takes comfort in knowing that her family is in a position to provide her with employment opportunities in the future.
“I don’t pursue material things. How much money do I need to earn for it to be enough? Besides, I’m not very good at studying, so I just want to take it slow, be near my family and not be stressed about work.”
Some analysts expressed concerns that the rush to implement top-down directives may come with unintended consequences.
The cancellation of foreign-language-related courses, for instance, may dwindle the pool of people that can help China better communicate with the world.
Between 2018 and 2022, 109 Chinese universities cancelled 28 foreign-language-related disciplines, with Japanese, English and Korean being the most affected.
Associate Professor David Moser at Beijing Capital Normal University’s foreign languages department told ST that the risks of cancelling “softer” courses are losing the human touch and connectivity.
“Translation, for example, is not just turning words from one language to another; it’s about expanding your understanding of another culture and allowing you to interact with one another,” said Prof Moser.
“We don’t want to have the whole Chinese education system turn into a huge science, technology, engineering and mathematics – Stem – programme.”