Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

New China has been established for seven years, but there are still many people in colleges and universities who are always muttering about asking Communist Party cadres to leave universities.

"The current development of universities in New China must align with the country's industrialization process. Therefore, university education at this stage must obey state arrangements and cannot be separated from the leadership of the Party. The phenomenon of universities still rejecting Party leadership is dangerous."

Wei Hongjun spoke.

In 1956, Khrushchev's secret report was released, which affected the entire socialist world, and China was no exception.

Although Chinese domestic propaganda has been toning down its tone over the past two years, particularly de-emphasizing Comrade Stalin, and Party propaganda generally doesn't mention Comrade Stalin, even if it's downplaying Stalin, the fact that he was promoted for so many years is bound to be affected.

Colleges and universities are actually the most dangerous.

Since ancient times, when social problems arise and thoughts are confused, the first to have problems are always colleges and universities and college students.

Therefore, universities cannot be in chaos.

Historically, during the three years of 1957, 1958, and 1959, many problems truly arose in New China's universities. Student strikes occurred not once or twice. One major reason for this was the ideological fluctuations within universities.

Just look at the current situation.

There are serious problems with the Party’s leadership in colleges and universities, which is why there are voices calling for the Party to leave “colleges and universities.”

"Comrade Wei Hongjun is right. The development of higher education cannot be separated from the leadership of the Party."

Xi Zhongxun supported Wei Hongjun's statement.

Since becoming Minister of Propaganda, he has not only had to deal with ideological issues within the Party, but also with the impact of ideas from outside the Party. Universities are a crucial battlefield on the ideological front. However, the Party has not yet fully occupied this position.

The more this is the case, the more we need to emphasize the leadership of the Party.

The Prime Minister asked, "Comrade Yang Xiufeng, what are your thoughts on this issue?"

"Prime Minister, our Ministry of Education is thinking of transferring a group of knowledgeable, capable, and experienced university cadres from universities with strong political education to support other universities. This could include transferring a group of cadres from military universities."

Yang Xiufeng expressed the Ministry of Education’s thoughts.

Many universities in China today are of a very high level. Although the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education are the higher authorities of universities, this does not mean they can arbitrarily interfere in their internal affairs.

Some university presidents and party secretaries had qualifications and ranks no less senior than Yang Xiufeng's. Some were even renowned scholars, renowned throughout the country. Yang Xiufeng was helpless against such officials.

Therefore, some adjustments to universities still require the approval of the State Council. Currently, there are universities in China that were very famous during the Republic of China period, and there are also many universities that were established by the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army during the Anti-Japanese War.

These universities are all of good reputation.

Take, for example, the North China University of Technology, recently renamed the China University of Technology. The China University of Technology itself was originally founded by Wei Hongjun in Sheng County as the Cha'nan Industrial School, which later incorporated several Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Engineering Schools. It's a university founded by the Eighth Route Army itself, a legacy of its own. There are still many universities with this origin.

Yang Xiufeng considered drawing some cadres from these universities to support other universities and strengthen the party's power in other universities.

"In addition to major universities, can we draw a group of cadres from the government system to work in universities?"

Yang Xiufeng continued to put forward his suggestions.

He truly cared about China's universities. However, after hearing Yang Xiufeng's suggestion, many people remained silent. There wouldn't be much objection to transferring cadres from within the education system. After all, it was an internal matter within the education system.

But transferring a group of cadres from the government system to the education system? Those cadres may not be willing to do so.

After all, can the government system and the education system be the same?

Universities are high-ranking, and to be a cadre in a university, one must be of a high enough rank. However, cadres of this rank, whether at the central or local level, usually hold high positions. Are they willing to leave the powerful government system and work in universities with intellectuals?

But Yang Xiufeng's opinion is also well-founded. The current development of universities alone lacks capable cadres, especially Party members and cadres, not to mention the future development of universities, which will require the establishment of more universities. Establishing more universities will require more Party members and cadres.

Where do cadres come from?

The only way is to draw a group of people from the government system.

After a while, the Prime Minister asked, "What do the other comrades think?"

"To advance science and culture, we do need a group of knowledgeable and capable cadres to work in universities. As we industrialize, we need a large number of high-level technicians. The development of higher education cannot be separated from outstanding cadres."

Marshal Nie supported Yang Xiufeng's suggestion.

Since the country wants to vigorously develop higher education, it cannot be stingy with good cadres entering the field of higher education.

Marshal Nie is in charge of the Second Office of the State Council.

Yang Xiufeng had already reported on the development of higher education to Marshal Nie and Xi Zhongxun. With their support, the report reached the Premier, leading to the current education work conference.

Marshal Nie was more concerned about the fact that there were currently too many senior and high-ranking cadres nationwide. This was especially true after the large-scale military downsizing, which had increased the number of such cadres. Furthermore, these cadres had one characteristic: despite their seniority and high ranks, many were very young.

So many cadres should be properly arranged.

"Premier, there should be more mobility between government officials and university officials. University officials should gain practical experience and administrative experience, while government officials should enter universities, participate in their development, and increase their academic knowledge. This kind of exchange is beneficial for both sides."

Xi Zhongxun also spoke. The Prime Minister nodded.

But this is no small matter.

This requires a central decision. Only after the central government has made a decision can cadres be transferred from the government system.

"Let's find some time to discuss this matter with the Secretariat. Comrade Yang Xiufeng, please continue."

"Yes."

Yang Xiufeng continued, "Another problem with the development of higher education is that some localities, taking advantage of the central government's call to vigorously develop education and higher education, are indiscriminately developing higher education. Some provinces have opened numerous provincial colleges. However, the teaching capabilities of these provincial colleges are less than four or five times that of many technical secondary schools, and they simply don't qualify as colleges. Therefore, our Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education have not approved many provincial colleges, but that doesn't stop local governments from establishing these schools. This year, we've received applications from even more provinces to establish colleges."

Everyone present was a smart person and immediately understood what Yang Xiufeng meant.

Why are local governments so eager to establish these schools? They're willing to establish them even without approval from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education, regardless of their own capabilities. One reason, of course, is to keep up with the nation's industrialization and improve the province's educational standards.

But there is another one that the local government prepares for its own cadres.

At this stage, graduates from universities, colleges and technical secondary schools are considered cadres when they start working.

This is a local interest.

"Our country's current higher education capabilities are insufficient, and we need to concentrate our efforts. If we allow local governments to develop underdeveloped higher education, it will disperse our resources and severely impair the quality of higher education. National fiscal revenue is limited, and annual education funding is also limited. We cannot waste this money."

Yang Xiufeng was also helpless.

Although Yang Xiufeng was a senior official with a long career, he was unable to suppress the local authorities on this issue. Although the central government had abolished the local central bureaus, the provincial leaders were still at a very high level.

In many provinces, while local and military regions were separate, they weren't completely separated. Military commanders were even more reluctant to give Yang Xiufeng face. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education discussed this issue with local governments several times, but to no avail. Local governments established schools regardless of approval from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

"We really can't let this go." The Prime Minister nodded.

Looking at Marshal Nie and Xi Zhongxun, he said, "Comrades Rong Zhen and Xi Zhongxun must take this matter seriously. The entire nation is a chessboard, and educational development should be similar. Localities cannot blindly expand in higher education. Schools without recognition from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education cannot be included in the ranks of national universities. Higher education cannot be shoddy."

"We will come up with a special plan to address this issue."

Marshal Nie replied.

Xi Zhongxun also nodded.

Seeing that both matters had been arranged, Yang Xiufeng continued, "Then there's the issue of student employment. You have before you a set of data showing the number of junior high and high school graduates in our country over the years, as well as the number of junior high and high school graduates, technical school graduates, and college and secondary school graduates. It's already difficult to find jobs for these students this year, and it will be even more difficult next year, especially with so many more junior high and high school graduates."

Wei Hongjun picked up the report on the table and took a look.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the country's industrialization efforts were underway, and the biggest challenge was the lack of educated people. Therefore, the country vigorously developed education. Literacy campaigns were vigorously pursued, with massive annual expansion of primary, middle, and high schools. By 1955, high school graduates alone had exceeded 30, higher education graduates exceeded 10, technical secondary school graduates exceeded 20, and several million junior high school graduates remained.

But there aren't that many jobs.

"According to the original education development plan, the number of junior and senior high school graduates will increase even faster in the coming years. Especially as newly established high schools begin operations, the number of high school graduates will exceed 40 within three years. I've discussed this with Comrades Li Fuchun, Zeng Shan, and Zhou Rongxin. While there's no problem finding jobs for students in higher education and secondary vocational education, finding jobs for the large number of junior and senior high school graduates is a real challenge. The problem isn't serious at this stage, but as the number of junior and senior high school graduates increases, there simply won't be enough jobs for them. This problem already exists this year, and it will become a serious issue starting next year. In a few years, the number of unemployed junior and senior high school graduates could reach tens of millions."

Development must be balanced.

If any one aspect has problems, overall development will suffer. Currently, industrialization and education are out of sync. Education is developing faster than industrialization, resulting in a lack of jobs for these young students.

"Comrade Li Fuchun, Comrade Zeng Shan, Comrade Zhou Rongxin, is this true?" "Yes."

Li Fuchun was the first to answer.

"We add a lot of jobs every year, but there aren't many left for these students. Following the military downsizing over the past two years, so many troops have been demobilized. Many of our newly established factories are staffed by these demobilized troops, either as a whole or as a whole division or regiment. Besides these demobilized officers and soldiers, our factory positions are mostly reserved for college and technical school graduates, rather than junior high and high school graduates."

"It's the same with us. The demand for middle and high school graduates isn't that high."

Zeng Shan answered.

Zhou Rongxin, director of the Personnel Bureau, also responded: "College and technical secondary school graduates are all cadres, but the Personnel Bureau has no arrangements for junior and senior high school graduates. Currently, there are not enough positions in government agencies for junior and senior high school graduates."

Again, there aren't that many jobs.

The Prime Minister looked at the other officials from the ministries, and everyone nodded. Each ministry has a number of job openings each year, and the factories under them also recruit workers. However, they don't specifically recruit junior high and high school graduates.

Junior high and high school graduates are actually in a rather awkward situation.

They are neither college graduates nor graduates of technical secondary schools trained for cadre development, nor graduates of technical schools where they learn technical skills. After leaving school, they have no unique skills other than the basic knowledge they learned in school.

Compared to the workers, these students only have a few more years of schooling, but no more advantages. The best students go to technical secondary schools, colleges, or universities.

They are just ordinary junior and high school students.

The Prime Minister looked at Yang Xiufeng and asked, "What does the Ministry of Education think?"

"Prime Minister, many of our students study hard and graduate from middle school and high school. This group alone numbers two to three million students each year. If we can't find a job for them, it will dampen their enthusiasm for learning. However, since there aren't enough jobs for them, we should take decisive action now. After discussion, our Ministry of Education has decided to reduce the number of students admitted to high schools starting next year."

"inappropriate."

Wei Hongjun spoke.

He said, "Those junior high school graduates are fifteen or sixteen years old, at the peak of their youthful impulsiveness. High schools originally accepted thirty out of a hundred junior high school graduates, but if the acceptance rate is reduced to twenty, how will these students accept this? They might even cause trouble. We can temporarily halt the expansion of high school enrollment for the next few years, but we absolutely cannot reduce the number of admissions. We still need to consider how to arrange more jobs for these students."

It's easy for the Ministry of Education to formulate policies, but it's easy for them to cause major problems down the line. This problem also occurred in the history of New China.

At the time, the Ministry of Education reduced the number of high school admissions. Fifteen- and sixteen-year-old junior high school students were dissatisfied. Based on the previous admission rate, many students would have had a chance to attend high school. However, with the reduction in admissions, many junior high school graduates were unable to attend. This led to numerous incidents, the most serious of which was the "Hanyang Incident." Junior high school students besieged the county government in what was ultimately labeled a "counter-revolutionary riot." The entire junior high school faculty was implicated, and many were sentenced.

The impact of this incident is too bad.

This, coupled with Khrushchev's secret report, caused ideological confusion throughout society. New China was fiercely criticized for this incident. The situation was further exacerbated by the "Anti-Rightist Movement," which followed.

Fifteen or sixteen years old, young and energetic.

If the number of admitted students remains the same, everyone can accept it. However, if the number of admitted students decreases, problems will easily arise.

"If these students can endure hardships, our Ministry of Agriculture and Reclamation can employ 100,000 people every year."

Tan Zhenlin, who had been silent all this time, spoke.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Reclamation is now short of manpower.

Especially for these educated students. As long as they are willing to endure hardships, the Ministry of Agriculture and Reclamation can provide 100,000 places every year. 100,000 people may seem like a lot, but to the Ministry of Agriculture and Reclamation, it's nothing.

Now the agricultural reclamation corps in Xinjiang, Northeast China, Suiyuan, Hainan, Yunnan and Jiangxinpo areas need a large number of personnel.

We need to solve the problem of singles in the Agricultural Reclamation Corps, the problem of insufficient doctors in the Agricultural Reclamation Corps, and the problem of schooling for children in the Agricultural Reclamation Corps. These educated students are needed in all aspects.

"The Agricultural Reclamation Corps has limited manpower. To truly accommodate large numbers of students, we need to look further afield. Over 80% of my country's population currently lives in rural towns and villages, where the potential is limitless. Therefore, these rural areas are where these students are most needed to showcase their talents. We are collaborating with the Ministry of Health on the 'Rural and Township Doctor Development Program,' currently training approximately people annually. Once the program is successfully implemented and stabilized, we aim to train no fewer than people annually. Developing rural education also requires a large number of teachers. While rural towns and villages don't currently need more junior high and high schools, they do need a large number of elementary schools. After some basic training, these students can become elementary school teachers. This is where the vast potential lies."

Deng Zhihui spoke.