The central authorities released a revised list of universities and disciplines included in the “double world-class project” on February 14. With the addition of seven universities, a total of 147 universities and more than 460 subjects are to be supported with the aim of developing them to be world-class. There are about 3,000 higher education institutions on the Chinese mainland. Entering the list of the “first-class project” means the universities and their departments undertaking relevant subjects can secure generous funding and tremendous policy support from the authorities at various levels, making them an envy of their peers. With the birthrate in the country falling sharply over recent years, the net increase of the population last year was only about 480,000, the lowest since the early 1960s. That means many of the 3,000 institutions today will have to contract their enrollment scale or even shut down in the foreseeable future as the number of newborns will be falling sharply if the trend is unchecked. So being included on the list provides a guarantee for the universities’ future development. It is therefore good to see that the evaluation system is open. Those on the list might be delisted if their performances and the outcomes do not justify the State’s input, and those not yet on the list have the chance to be included, as shown by the seven universities, including Shanxi University of Shanxi Province, and Xiangtan University of Hunan Province, that were added to the list this time. With the system in place, the competition among universities not only those on the list, but also between them and those not on the list, will become fiercer. Among the more than 460 subjects, 180 are engineering ones, 92 are social sciences and 59 belong to the field of science. The State highlighting these subjects is tantamount to it giving priority to encouraging the universities to make breakthroughs in these fields. Universities not yet on the list have the possibility of being included so long as they can do a better job than others in these fields or prove their potential to do so. The system represents progress compared with the previous comparatively more rigid evaluation systems that granted the key universities a permanent State-recognized identity that guarantee them with reliable funding from the central authorities. Although the reform might not have big influences on the top universities, such as Tsinghua University and Peking University, it can effectively intensify the competition among the universities ranked from around 100th to 200th in the country, as the gate of the Chinese “Ivy League” will always remain open to them as long as they do well in any of the over 460 identified subjects. (Xinhua) | 