On Education Part II

Spending the last couple of days doing research for what I hope will be a book in the next year has taken into one of the pathways that I know will require a lot of research in the coming months.
The subject--higher education in China.
A large part of what I intend to write has a direct correlation to what the purpose of recruiting foreign teachers to teach at the University level in China is really for. From the time that I arrived in China, I was constantly wondering why they choose to spend so much time and effort recruiting foreigners (especially white American and British citizens) and then when we arrive, are not given any training about what we are to teach specifically.
Reading the different opinions about the Chinese educational system holds nearly as much propoganda as researching former Chinese leadership. However, it would seem that the main issue that the Chinese are dealing with when it comes to the aspect of higher education is a three fold issue.

First, the system since the Cultural reveloution has been full of corruption and deceit--which it developed during the Cultural reveloution because the schools were turned into breeding grounds for re-education in the sense of the newly formed Communist party, led by Mao. This system paid little to no attention in educating its pupils outside of its own idealogy. This cessation of education eventually (following the cultural reveloution), led to the discovery of potential gains from the development of a massive commodification of education.

Secondly, where as access was an issue before, the "college reveloution" soon took place and the chinese began to undertake a massive resugence of University development. For what purpose this was, I am still researching but my guess is two fold, First, this commoditification of education can become a cash cow quite easily. Those that sit at the top of the academic ladder in China are rarely academics, but moreso connected to the communist party--schools just become part of the machine. Families of all schools of thought, particularly Confucioun, believe that the way to sucess is through education. This, like it does elsewhere, works on all levels: if you work hard, do well is school, then you become rich. Its just that simple--but the fact of the matter is that its not that simple and will never be again.
Which is point three: The lack of new graduate positions in China is growing faster than ever before, but not fast enough. This past summer, more than 8 million people graduated from Chinese Universities, but there were less than 465,000 new jobs created in the country.
The offical Chinese line is as follows:
Chinese institutions of higher education admitted 5m students in 2005, sending the number of Chinese university attendees to 23m-the highest in the world. In order to maintain low teacher-to-student ratios and allocate the funds necessary to maintain high standards, Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, announced on May 10th that state councillors were mulling plans to reduce university admissions for the coming academic year. China faces a surplus of out-of-work graduates, according to the National Reform and Development Commission, which reports that 60% of students face unemployment upon graduation.

So, for now, this is what I am researching. My interest is to show the development of the educational system in a place like China...
Stay tuned... and try not to fall asleep.