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it is not uncommon to hear news about university graduates "returning to vocational schools". for such a school, is it necessary to pursue a doctorate in this way, especially from southeast asia, which has a poor academic reputation?

recently, a list of doctoral students recruited by taiyuan preschool education college in shanxi province has sparked controversy online. in the list, most of the graduates of the 10 candidates who entered the political review and physical examination were from universities in southeast asia, and they were questioned as "watered-down phds". this talent recruitment was also questioned as being seriously "watered-down".

according to the public announcement, most of the 10 talents to be introduced are from the philippines and thailand, such as adamson university of the philippines, assumption university of thailand, shinawatra international university of thailand, philippine christian university, etc. their majors cover art, sports and exercise, education, etc.

announcement of the interview scores of the second batch of doctoral students recruited by taiyuan preschool teachers college in 2024 and the list of candidates who will undergo political review and physical examination © taiyuan preschool teachers college official website

some "sharp-eyed" netizens discovered that this adamson university in the philippines is the adamson university in the philippines. in july 2022, hunan shaoyang university caused controversy for spending 18 million to introduce 23 doctoral students from philippine universities. the institution that awarded these doctoral degrees was adamson university in the philippines. earlier in november 2021, the school was included in the list of "strengthening certification review for academic degree certification" by the overseas study service center of the ministry of education.

it is not advisable to create a chain of academic contempt simply based on the place of study, and it is also unfair to label students from a certain place. however, it is true that some universities in southeast asia have low admission thresholds, short schooling, and loose management. although it is impeccable to obtain master's and doctoral degrees in a short and easy way, the "gold content" is ultimately difficult to convince the public. this is also the reason why southeast asian students are surrounded by negative comments such as "watered master's" and "watered doctorate".

at present, some domestic universities are becoming more cautious about recruiting phds from southeast asia, and many universities have clearly stipulated that, in principle, they will not recruit phds from southeast asian and south korean universities whose disciplines are not competitive and whose development potential is insufficient. against this background, the list of taiyuan preschool education college is even more eye-catching.

in this talent introduction, there is no suspected violation of procedures and rules, but the concentration of phds in southeast asia is so high that it is hard not to cause public concern - is phd required for this talent introduction? will the money be spent but the effect not achieved? in the eyes of many people, as a full-time public kindergarten teacher talent college, taiyuan preschool teachers college should pay more attention to practical skills and experience when introducing talents. at present, news about university graduates "returning to vocational schools" is not uncommon. for such a school, is it necessary to pursue phds so much, especially from southeast asia with a poor academic reputation?

from the school's perspective, this account is not difficult to calculate. although southeast asian phds have a bad reputation, they are still genuine overseas returnees. their introduction can significantly improve the various data indicators of the school's faculty and create conditions for the school's future upgrade and expansion, which means more educational resources and greater benefits. as for the role of this talent introduction in teaching quality, it cannot be simply attributed, and the aftereffects have to be waited and seen. in short, it is an unknown. the pros and cons are obvious. therefore, some people point out that the school involved is obviously "taking shortcuts".

however, the blame cannot be entirely placed on the schools. if the "baton" for evaluating schools is to point to the number and proportion of "doctoral hats", then in order to avoid being eliminated, those who are in it can only accept the rules of the game and use them to the extreme. for the schools involved, their own attractiveness is limited. they should try their best to fit the evaluation system and strive for more resources and support. introducing southeast asian doctors with poor reputations has become a "shortcut". this is not intended to excuse the schools involved, but to point out that the person who tied the bell must untie it. on the basis of curiosity and attention to individual cases, systemic issues such as reforming the education evaluation system are more worthy of our consideration.