Shaoyang University in Shaoyang, Hunan province, has recently disclosed it plans to spend 18 million yuan, in the form of research subsidies, housing allowances, and other support measures, to employ 23 doctoral degree holders from Adamson University of the Philippines.
All of the 23 obtained doctorates in pedagogy from the university, and they all studied the university's degree program from August 2019 to December 2021. Except for one of them, who is labeled by Shaoyang University as a candidate from outside the school, all of the rest used to be teachers at Shaoyang University before undertaking their two years of "overseas" studies.
Shaoyang University said that given the difficulty of quickly increasing the proportion of doctoral degree holders in its teaching staff, one of the compulsory requirements set by the Ministry of Education for colleges to be qualified to apply for the right to confer master's degrees and also upgrade from a college to a university, it had no choice but to adopt this controversial plan.
Although calling itself Shaoyang University in English on its official website, the literal translation of its Chinese name, which is strictly approved by the authorities and reflects its level in the country's higher education system, should be Shaoyang College.
Becoming a university or being granted the right to confer master's and doctoral degrees means a remarkable increase in government funding, the main reliable source of income for institutions of higher learning on the Chinese mainland.
So although the practice of Shaoyang University appears bizarre, it is customized to fit the system with the purpose of raising the school's profile and income.
Despite this, it is a practice that should not be encouraged as the doctoral degrees the teachers obtained in such a short time presumably through online courses might not bring about substantial progress in teaching and research at the university they work for.
