Professor Meng Fangui, president of college of education in Capital Normal University, shares with METRO his views on China's higher education and university league table.

How can China improve the quality of its higher education?

Higher education has three functions: to cultivate talents, to offer scientific research and to provide service to the society.

However, a breakthrough in China's higher education relies on three important factors.

First, the government should display good governance and clear the hurdles hampering development of a quality university administrative system.

Second, a cooperative mechanism among educational institutions should be established to curtail excessive competition among them.

And third, each university should have more autonomy to shape their individual uniqueness and characteristics.

Last month, nine prestigious Chinese universities formed a group called the C9, which some experts have referred to as "China's Ivy League". Is this an effective way to improve higher education in China?

Like the Ivy League in the United States and G8 in Australia, the formation of C9 meets the three important factors I have mentioned. It is a breakthrough for China's higher education.

For undergraduates, a system has been established that allows them to win credits through attending classes in C9 member universities.

Students will also be able to attend different exchange programs among the C9 community.

As far as postgraduates are concerned, cooperation on visiting scholar exchanges will be deepened, while a website will be set up to evaluate doctoral dissertations among member universities.

It is widely accepted that each member of the Ivy League in the US has its own background, characteristics and style of study. However, universities in China are comprehensive ones. How can China solve the problem of homogenization of universities?

Compared with educational institutions in developed countries, the lack of unique styles of study is a big problem hampering the enhancement of the country's higher education.

It is very common for schools of art to have majors in science, while schools of science have majors in English literature.

Deepened cooperation, as well as students and faculty exchanges, would stimulate Chinese universities to form their own styles.

It is the uniqueness that lures cooperation from other universities.

Some educational experts argue that the C9 is a fancy term for an educational monopoly. Is this true?

Higher education is different from elementary education. Institutions should be categorized based on their quality.

A university that offers better quality deserves better funding.

However, in China, the distribution of resources is partially determined by administrative rankings of educational institutions. The government should find a way to change this.

(China Daily 11/24/2009 page28)