higher education, and has not been fundamentally changed to date. In most recent years, however, a number of key universities in the country have begun to launch independent enrollment initiatives that help broaden student recruitment. Tsinghua's admission for Jiang Fangzhou is such an example. It helps to move the process toward a more liberal and diversified education system.

College graduates with high scores, but low skills, cannot survive the job market because of too little practical experience, said education authorities. Starting from next year, a set of trial assessment standards will be launched in a dozen cities, where results of the national college entrance exam will no longer be the only basis for enrollment-previous school performance will also be taken into account.

Dong Hongda (www.china.com.cn): It seems that Tsinghua's proactive enrollment system is expanding with more students specialized in arts or having extraordinary skills allowed in. As a matter of fact, it reflects the social transformation of how to define talent. Higher education should focus more on breeding capable and innovative intellectuals, rather than high scoring geeks.

Tsinghua's ground-breaking enrollment of students like Jiang Fangzhou will help modify an absolute test-based and score-measured education system, and opens the way for future reforms.

Xiu Yangfeng (Modern Express): When Tsinghua opened its door to a talented writer student by lowering the threshold, people are questioning its fairness. But there is no absolute justice in the world. It is equally unfair for these talented students who have long been restrained by an over-rigid education system.

It may reduce opportunities for others entering via the national exam, but it will boost education reform to develop a more scientific and dynamic enrollment mode. If Tsinghua can use this initially established system to get more experience, a better enrollment mechanism could eventually be set up for these students with special talents, making it a regular occurrence in the future.

Keep playing field level

Yang Yajun (www.dahe.cn): Jiang is a special talent because of her gifted writing skills, but she was totally lost in the composition section during this year's Chinese language exam. She did not come up with even one word in almost half an hour. I am not against Tsinghua's initiative to get more students of special talents, but it matters whether Jiang is a real talent or not. Will composing an exam article be more difficult than writing a book? Jiang's slow reaction and inadequate writing skills can be seen through the exam.