Yang said universities' lack of self-governing power has led to the lack of an incentive system for the leadership of universities. Thus some university presidents and principals only care about the education authorities' evaluation of them in the short-term, rather than really concentrating on building up their university comprehensively.

Professor Ding pointed out, "If a university is administrated and controlled by professional administrators, who can call the shots in the promotion of lecturers and discipline development of different departments, this is a university with no future."

Initiatives

Some education experts believe the key to creating first-class universities in China is a transition from an administrator-dominated system to a scholar-dominated one. In the process, two problems must be addressed. The first is how to maintain the independent operation of universities. Second is how to create transparent, fair and strict rules on hiring teaching staff and evaluating their academic performance.

A handful of Chinese universities have already begun to reform in this direction. For example, Tsinghua University has put forward a policy of inviting scholars and professors to play a more active role in the university's administration.

Professor Yan Xuyang, head of Canvard Institute of Beijing Technology and Business University, suggested that China should take the emphasis off world university rankings as such rampant ambition could in fact prove detrimental to reaching the goal of improvement.

Yang of BIT is also pessimistic about China's ambition to build world-class universities. He thinks the most urgent task is to recover the true essence of universities.

Boao Forum for Asia Executive Director Yao Wang suggests three areas for development. First, the study of Chinese culture and tradition must be cherished and developed.

Secondly, universities should seek breakthroughs in small areas. For example, China doesn't have a top-ranking business school, but Chinese universities can build a first-rate case reservoir since China's economic growth has spurred many economic miracles. Having a top-notch case reservoir can be the first step toward building an excellent business school.

Thirdly, China should map out goals for different periods and move toward these goals step by step. For instance, before building world top-ranking universities, China must start by building universities that rank top in the developing world.

University Ranking on Comprehensive Strength 2007 Tsinghua University Peking University Zhejiang University Shanghai Jiao Tong University Nanjing University Fudan University Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan University Jilin University Xi'an Jiaotong University University Ranking on Natural Sciences 2007 Tsinghua University Zhejiang University Peking University Shanghai Jiao Tong University Nanjing University Fudan University Huazhong University of Science and Technology University of Science and Technology of China Harbin Institute of Technology Sun Yat-sen University University Ranking on Social Sciences 2007 Peking University Renmin University of China Fudan University Nanjing University Tsinghua University Beijing Normal University Zhejiang University Wuhan University Nankai University Xiamen University University Ranking on Engineering Sciences 2007 Tsinghua University Shanghai Jiao Tong University Zhejiang University Harbin Institute of Technology Tianjin University Huazhong University of Science and Technology Xi'an Jiaotong University Beihang University Northwestern Polytechnical University South China University of Technology Law School Ranking 2007 Peking University Renmin University of China Wuhan University Tsinghua University China University of Political Science and Law Jilin University Fudan University Southwest University of Political Science and Law Zhongnan University of Economics and Law Zhejiang University Source: University appraisal team of China Academy of Management Science