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Peking University, Nov.9, 2011: Professor Mao Yushi, a 82-year-old renowned micro-economist and President of the Unirule Institute of Economics, is an outspoken public intellectual with singular social conscience. In order to educate basic economic knowledge to the general public, he has written many pieces of prose in which he uses economic theories to analyze his observations in everyday life. Some of his opinions have provoked public debates.

On November 5, 2011, Professor Mao delivered a speech titled “Efficiency and Equity in Education” at the World Bank panel session of Beijing Forum 2011. During the coffee break, Professor Mao gave a joint interview to reporters from PKU News, PKU TV and Voice of Peking University.

Reporter from PKU News: In your speech, you criticized the tendency of people's value in education going towards fostering “talents” who can contribute to GDP. Meanwhile, you maintain that education should ultimately help students achieve “wholeness of life”. What measures should students take in order to enjoy the "wholeness of life"?

Mao Yushi: First of all, I think educators should rid themselves of the obsession with examinations and grades. Instead of merely teaching students how to answer the questions on examination papers, teachers should pay more attention to arousing students’ interest in thinking over questions in their lives.

Also, the focus of education should not be confined to specific knowledge. For example, in class students should be given the opportunity to know more about the true, the good and the beautiful.

Extra-curricular activities should be more colorful. Nowadays, students enjoy more resources than I did in my school days. However, the opportunities to take part in extra-curricular activities seem to have been wrested from them. When I was in high school, we students often gathered in the poor-conditioned classroom to enjoy classic music together.

“Cynical youth” has been quite popular in recent years. I think the lack of education about life is exactly the reason why those young people cannot see things in proportion.

Reporter from PKU News: You have said that college tuition should be increased. Can you explain why?

Mao Yushi: At present, most college students are from well-off families but there are still some from families with heavy financial burdens. Some people say that in order to guarantee disadvantaged students’ opportunities to receive advanced education, college should lower their tuition. I don’t agree. To lower the tuition will benefit the rich unnecessarily at the same time. To raise the tuition and contribute the increase to student aid fund is a better solution.

Reporter from PKU TV: There’s news that a 16-year-old doctorate student required that his parents should buy him a house in Beijing. What is your opinion on his behavior?

Mao Yushi: I think this is the result of the prevalence of money worship in our society. The kid’s value has deviated from the right track. Perhaps he has neglected other important goals of life.

Reporter from PKU TV: What do you think of the Chinese proverb “Man of humble birth could be exalted to distinction”?

Mao Yushi: The rapid advances of society increase the possibility of upward social mobility. At present, education is an important means to promote this mobility.

Reporter from Voice of Peking University: In China, universities recruit students from different provinces according to different standards of grades in college entrance examinations. Do you think it is a fair practice?

Mao Yushi: I always feel that this practice is unfair. It renders the inequity in education graver. However, in China, the number of students is too large while quality educational resources are too limited. Students have no choice but to either buy quality education or get it by excelling in examinations. Neither of these practices is a good way to distribute educational resources but currently we have no better alternatives. Though people are highly concerned about educational equity, an absolute equity is simply unattainable.

Reported by: Chen Jiayu

Edited by: Chen Long