1905: Beer Hall Speaker

Page 115

Under the new education system, schools no longer select students; instead, students select schools. However, to qualify for selection, students must pass academic exams and obtain a degree certificate.

The Ministry of Civil Service of the People's Republic of China has issued new national civil service examination admission and appointment standards. From now on, those holding a bachelor's degree or above can be admitted without examination, and bachelor's degree holders will be directly promoted and appointed at the staff member level after being admitted.

The central government has already issued specific notices to schools at all levels and education departments in various regions. The academic proficiency test starting this year will not be the same as the national exam. It will be a closed-book exam, conducted in a closed examination room, with a nationally unified test paper.

All invigilators in the examination room were randomly selected police officers from other areas to conduct the highest level of invigilation. The process was based on the imperial examination of the previous dynasty, from body search to grading of papers.

The examination venue was taken over by a working group dispatched by the Ministry of Education, which provided accommodation and meals, and the venue was completely closed during the examination period.

After the exam, all the papers were graded by randomly selected personnel from other locations, and all the papers were sent to the capital and sealed for at least thirty years.

Candidates, examiners, and graders must all be held accountable for their actions for life. Even if the truth is not discovered on the spot, but is discovered 20 or 30 years later, they will still bear all the consequences and responsibilities.

Any candidate found cheating will be banned from taking any exam for life, not only academic proficiency tests but also national exams. They will be disqualified from taking any official national exam.

Furthermore, if any serious misconduct such as proxy testing, impersonation of admission qualifications, or post-exam cheating is discovered during the examination process, all participants will be dismissed from their public positions and held legally responsible. In addition, all participants and their immediate family members will be implicated and their responsibilities will be recorded!

The admission standards for this year's academic proficiency test have also been announced. There are no minimum score admission lines, only a brutal percentage admission rate. The unified admission rate for all three levels of academic proficiency tests is five percent, which is the highest estimated standard.

That means at most, five out of one hundred candidates will be admitted. If the overall exam results are poor, it might be even lower, with only two or three out of one hundred possibly being admitted. In any case, there is no set lower limit.

The top leadership's intentions are already clear: to conduct a brutal elimination round. Currently, there are only seventeen universities in China, including military academies!

Theoretically, the total number of admissions is at most less than 100,000, or even less. After all, a school can't be full of freshmen, right? In reality, the number of admissions is only 40,000 to 50,000. The higher-ups calculated based on an estimated million applicants, which means an admission rate of 5%.

This is still the result of the Ministry of Education's leniency. The total number of admissions reported by all higher education institutions across the country this year is only over 27,000. In the end, the Ministry of Education used financial allocations as a bargaining chip to get the schools to expand their enrollment quotas and not let the admission rate become too cruel.

Currently, there are only a few universities in China: Beiyang Western Studies School, founded in 1895; Shanghai Jiao Tong University, formerly Nanyang Public School, founded in 1896; Peking University, also known as the Imperial University of Peking, founded in 1898; Fudan University, founded in 1905; and the Imperial Railway Institute, also known as Beiyang Tangshan Railway and Mining School, founded in 1906.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Jiangnan Naval Academy was established based on the integration of the Jiangnan Naval Academy and the resources of private commercial schools and church schools in Guangzhou. Guangdong University was founded on these combined resources.

In Nanjing, Nanjing University of Science and Technology was established, relying on the training school of Jinling Arsenal. In addition, there is a comprehensive national defense university in Nanjing with German assistance.

In addition, the Ministry of Education also allocated funds to establish higher education institutions such as Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing University of Science and Technology, and Beijing Normal University in Beijing, while a new Yuelu University was established in Hunan.

But this is pretty much the limit. That's all the money we have. The education funding is mainly invested in the popularization of compulsory education at the grassroots level. We can't make it popular for higher education, and we don't even have the capacity to expand enrollment. We can only make do for now.

Running higher education institutions is too expensive. Various experimental equipment, teaching materials, teaching facilities, and infrastructure are all necessary, and the vast majority of them need to be imported from abroad at great expense.

As for teaching staff, relying solely on those old scholars who only know classical Chinese can at best run a liberal arts college or a Confucian academy, which will most likely produce a large group of "masters of the Republic of China era," who may have some cultural value, but will be of little use to the country's scientific, technological, industrial, and economic development.

Therefore, the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China is also spending a lot of money to bring in high-end talents from Europe and the United States to teach in schools. These talents are already a high-salary group in Europe and the United States. After bringing them back, you have to give them at least double the salary, with an annual salary of at least 70,000 to 80,000 yuan, before they will consider coming to China.

In addition to basic benefits, the government must also promise to allocate funds to support their research, which they see as a bottomless pit. Only by doing both can these top Western talents agree to come here.

Zhao Yan felt a pang of heartache seeing the cost; higher education is truly not something the poor can afford.

With such investment, the higher-ups turned around and found that the underground students were not doing their jobs but running around in the streets to protest. How could the bigwigs keep their cool in that situation?

As a result, the most brutal acceptance rate in history appeared, and everyone planned to teach those young students a lesson and make them understand what the important things were.

The Republic will not use sticks and rifle bayonets to deal with the demonstrations of young students, but it has a much crueler method: the future!

Chapter 193 The Student in a Dire Situation

"Quickly, everyone get into the classroom! A new notice has come down, you're really in trouble this time!"

"Stop giving me all that nonsense, the elementary school exams are coming up soon!"

Inside a national high school in Changsha, Hunan, a teacher walked into the classroom with a nervous expression, and the students all sat down, waiting for the teacher's next words.

Just a few days ago, these students were still marching in the streets and alleys in a grand manner, but now, they are all sitting in the classroom chanting Amitabha Buddha, anxious as ants on a hot pan, with no sense of unease at all.

The notification from above came too suddenly; no one was prepared.

In the two years prior, the Republican government's education system was quite lenient. In 2007 and 2008, after the new school system was implemented, each university organized its own entrance examinations, giving local students a significant advantage, and the exam content was not particularly difficult.

Many people can even get in through connections or by simply paying money to get in for a "gilded" experience.

However, the consequence of this is that the learning atmosphere in universities and colleges has become too relaxed, with students becoming more enthusiastic about politics and social activities than about their academic studies.

It's unbelievable that college students are having an even more carefree life than high school students.

After the new reform measures were implemented, the independent enrollment examination qualifications of all universities were cancelled. From now on, the students admitted by all universities will no longer be determined by themselves, but by the national academic examination.

After a nationwide unified examination and unified admission process, students holding graduation and degree certificates can then choose their own universities.

Schools have become more difficult, having lost their most important right to enroll students. Students have also become more difficult, as all the previous admission channels have been canceled, leaving only a narrow path. If you cross it, the sky's the limit; if you don't, you're a complete failure.

"Everyone calm down and listen carefully! This academic proficiency test is no longer a national exam. This time it's for real. If you don't have a solid foundation, don't participate. Don't waste your qualification!"

"Each person only has three chances to take the exam in their lifetime. Each time you take it, you lose one chance. If you fail all three times, then you have absolutely no chance!"

The students were shocked to hear this, as they never expected that even the number of times an exam could be limited to one's entire life; it was too cruel.

In reality, the country doesn't have enough resources to accommodate countless candidates taking the exam endlessly. Organizing a nationwide exam also requires a lot of resources. If you can't pass the exam three times, then there's no need for you to continue wasting your time.

"The exam dates have been set; it will be held from June 15th to 17th, a total of three days, and the exam location will be the provincial capital garrison camp!"

"All the proctors were armed police officers from other areas, and the examination room was under military-style management and supervised by the garrison."

"Don't even think about cheating. If you're caught, you'll be banned from taking any national exams for life, and it will affect your immediate family members for three generations!"

“考试内容也定下来了，国语（30分）、思想（20分）、历史（50分）、数学（150分）、物理（100分）、化学（100分）、生物（100分）、地理（100分）。

The total score for all subjects is 650 points. No one knows the exact passing standard, but the acceptance rate is a maximum of 5%. This means that no matter your score, you have to be in the top 5% to have a chance!

The teacher kept it brief, summarizing and refining the information he knew, only mentioning the most important points.

The students were in an uproar after hearing this. The liberal arts exam only accounted for such a small percentage of the score, and more than 70% of the score had to be earned through hard work.

The higher-ups haven't given us any way out at all; they're treating the students like Japanese!

The central government has invested heavily in reforming the higher education system, with a very clear objective: to cultivate practical talents rather than theoretical ones.

The higher-ups practically said it outright: from now on, only science students will be accepted! The importance of all science subjects has been infinitely elevated, while humanities will only retain a necessary place.

To put it bluntly, for students who are truly capable of learning science, switching to humanities is like Zhang Fei eating bean sprouts – a piece of cake.

But no matter how high or good a liberal arts student's grades are, if you were to study science, you would still be completely lost.

The top leadership insists on giving students 100% marks for Mandarin, ideology, and history, just to ensure they don't forget their roots. As long as they have a decent grasp of humanities, know they are Chinese, can speak and write Chinese characters, and have a general understanding of Chinese history, they are already qualified. They don't need to be able to compose poems, play musical instruments, or sing.

To be frank, things like literary appreciation, writing, art, and music are things that only the wealthy and powerful are qualified to do. For the poor or ordinary people, learning these things is useless.

Moreover, even if you become a master after mastering these skills, apart from your Mandarin being somewhat useful and potentially allowing you to become a writer in the future, the rest of your skills in art and music are useless!

Hitler almost starved to death because of his painting. Are you more awesome than Hitler? Studying music, your greatest future use will just be as an actor performing for the rich.

The truly powerful and wealthy would never let their children pick up paintbrushes or play musical instruments; they learn how to appreciate art, not how to perform.

The ultimate limit for liberal arts is simply to get you on stage, but the immediate limit is to get you sitting in the audience, or even in the VIP seats.

The Ministry of Education's emphasis on science over humanities has greatly displeased many "masters" in the education sector, who believe that if this continues, the country will cease to exist. Without the humanities to cultivate character, even those who excel in science will be considered arrogant and unruly.

But the central leadership completely ignored these words, paying no attention to them at all. The central leadership is very pragmatic and very clear about its own needs.

What China needs most right now is not masters but engineers, not thinkers but scientists. Zhao Yanning would rather Chinese people study science to the point of obsession and become like De San than study humanities, like the Republic of China era where students were all masters.

China today is not qualified to pursue the development of spiritual civilization. What it needs most is the backbone of the steel industry. First, we need to build up the backbone, learn to walk and run, and learn to fight and seize territory.

When you've run fast enough, fight fiercely enough, and subdued everyone around you, that's when it's time to build a civilized mind and develop your intelligence.

Right now, he can just spout a few words about human rights and freedom, and all the young people in China will jump out and start protests. If he were to add liberal arts education to this, who knows what the mindset of young people in China will be like in ten years?

Zhao Yan felt that the best young people were those who had no ideas and were just obedient. He thought that as the leader, all he needed was brains, and he could lead them to victory without lifting a finger.

He had taken on so many apprentices before, but few of them were easy to deal with. They all had their minds ruined by studying humanities. If he had taught them more math, physics, and chemistry, things probably wouldn't be like this. Unfortunately, Zhao Yan himself didn't know those things, so he couldn't teach them!

"If you're not confident about this year's academic proficiency test, don't participate. Don't waste this precious opportunity; wait until next year!"

“I told you to focus on your studies, but none of you listened. You’re not even fully grown yet, and you’re already thinking about talking big and pointing fingers at national policies. Now you know you regret it, don’t you?”

"You all thought that you had learned a little bit, knew some ideas, and understood some world trends, and that you were all set. But now that you're being tested in real life, you've all failed miserably!"

"What the country needs in the future are hardworking and dedicated people, not those who point fingers and give orders!"

"If you want to give orders, fine, but first you'd better bury yourself in hard work and work your way up step by step before you're qualified to give orders!"

The teacher's teachings were very practical and pertinent. After all, he had been young once, but after experiencing the harsh realities of society for so many years, he realized how ridiculous his youthful enthusiasm had been.

If you're an 18 or 19-year-old and someone tries desperately to instill lofty ideas in you, telling you that young people are the fundamental force for changing the world, then without a doubt, that guy is a fraud! He definitely wants to incite you to take the lead and accomplish some goal for him!

Even that teacher would only say that you are the sun at eight or nine o'clock in the morning, and that the future belongs to you!

Distinguish between the present and the future. A conscientious person will tell young people that the future belongs to them, while a heartless person will make them take the lead now.

"Don't be too ambitious, you have to be down-to-earth. Anything is possible in the future, but the premise is that you must start working hard now."

"No matter how much you think about it, it's not as good as taking one step at a time!"

"I know your level. Except for a very few students, most of you are just mediocre. Don't think too much about the academic exam."

"If you're smart, you should prepare for this year's national civil service exam. I have a feeling that the national civil service exam will become more and more rigorous in the future, and now is your best opportunity."

"Or if you insist on persisting, don't be greedy for everything, just focus on one subject! There are special passing criteria for the academic proficiency test!"

The special passing criteria for academic proficiency tests are designed for geniuses, not the kind of geniuses who can skip grades at will, but the kind of geniuses who are born to do this job!

The special passing criteria only apply to science subjects. In all science exams, the basic score is in the compulsory questions, but there is an extension question at the end that does not count towards the total score.

These exam papers were created by top science experts, at least professors, both domestically and internationally. The required questions were already extremely difficult, while the extended questions were basically designed to test geniuses in the field.

If you get full marks on the compulsory questions without making any mistakes, and then solve the extension questions, you can still pass even if you get zero marks on other subjects, and you will receive special attention.

The teacher has said everything he needed to say and offered all the advice he could. At least as a teacher, he has done his best. The rest is beyond his control.

The young students realized the seriousness of the situation and started cramming at the last minute. Almost everyone still wanted to give it a try, since admission was based on a ratio. If they didn't take the exam, their chances would be zero, but if they went, they could at least try for that 5% chance.

They figured everyone was probably the same: if I'm a mediocre person, you're probably not much better either. If we don't give it a shot, who knows if we'll be in the top 5%?

Anyone who thinks that way is making a big mistake. Leaving aside those geniuses, there are plenty of ordinary students who have studied hard. Moreover, the higher-ups only said that the maximum pass rate is 5%, not that the minimum pass rate is 5%.

If a student is a fraud, the school would rather leave the admission slots vacant than let them pass. If 99.9% of the students are fraudulent, the Ministry of Education is prepared to admit only the last 0.1% of genuine students this year.

Following this round of education reforms, Zhao Yan personally wrote a four-character directive to the Ministry of Education: "Better to have none than to have bad ones!"

The central government's stance is very firm: they'd rather have fewer, or even none, candidates! But those who are useless after being admitted are unacceptable, not even one, let alone thousands or tens of thousands!

The cost of educating college students is simply too high. The subsidies, scholarships, and other benefits that the Ministry of Education provides for each college student represent a huge investment every year.

If this produces mediocre college students, it would be better to use this money for compulsory education. At least after graduating from primary school, they would be qualified soldiers and workers. But what can a mediocre college student do?

If you ask him to do lowly tasks, he won't take off his long gown; but if you entrust him with important responsibilities, would you feel at ease with him?

Many young people in later generations, especially college students, like to make fun of themselves, describing themselves as both innocent and foolish, and taking pride in being a college student's silly and cute nature.

But those kinds of people think that promoting themselves like that will make them seem cute, little do they know that others will actually believe them! You yourself admit that you're stupid, so who else would believe you!

Real, hard-working college students don't have time for silly, cute antics. While you're taking pride in your own silliness, they've already started engaging with high-level academics under their mentors.

Zhao Yan hopes that after investing so much, future Chinese college students will be masculine, intelligent, and strong, not the kind of silly fools in those cutesy videos.

All Zhao Yan could do was pave the way and wait for those who met the requirements to come up.

As for those who are eliminated, they are destined to be at the bottom. Zhao Yan is not afraid that someone like Huang Chao will emerge from among them, because as long as fairness is ensured, someone like Huang Chao will definitely be given priority in admission.

Chapter 194 Northeast China and Soybeans

Inside the imperial study, Zhao Yan immersed himself in a sea of ​​documents, the mountain of files piled up on the table blocking his view.

"His Majesty! His Majesty!"

"Here it is!"

Hearing the shout, Zhao Yan poked his head out from behind the mountain of documents: "What is it now, Lao Zhang?"

Zhang Mingqi hurriedly sat down opposite Zhao Yan, picked up Zhao Yan's teacup without hesitation, and took a big gulp.

Zhao Yan snatched the teacup back with obvious disgust, dumping out the last bit of tea leaves: "Don't use it carelessly, this teacup is made of purple clay!"

"What brings you here again? Are those students still causing trouble?"

Zhang Mingqi said, "It's not about student demonstrations anymore. There are only five days left until the college entrance exams. They don't have time for demonstrations. They're all busy preparing for the exams."

Zhao Yan sat down and nodded in satisfaction: "If they dare to cause trouble again, I'll import a tracked tractor from America! Come on!"

"Alright, just tell me what it is, don't waste my time, I have too many documents piling up lately."

Zhang Mingqi didn't mince words: "Something's happened in the Northeast, it's very troublesome!"

"But don't worry, it's not a major diplomatic or war-related issue. It's just some troublesome matters in the soybean financial sector that the local authorities can't handle. So they called the Prime Minister's Office for a decision. We discussed it for a long time but still couldn't make a decision. In the end, we had to ask you to come up with a final decision."

Zhao Yan looked puzzled: "I understand the Northeast and soybeans, but when did the Northeast have finance? That place is full of corn cobs, when did it have finance?"

Zhao Yan is in charge of strategic decision-making and major events, as well as the final review and approval of various data and performance, and the checking and filling of gaps in some major events involving a lot of money and people.

Zhao Yan simply didn't have the energy to worry about the specific local industries and sector distribution, so Zhang Mingqi was more familiar with them.