China's prestigious universities exit international university rankings

2022-05-10 Ecns.cn Editor：Zhao Li

(ECNS) -- Renmin University of China, one of the top universities in the country, has stopped participating in all international university rankings, China National Radio (CNR) cited insiders as saying Monday.

Leaders of the university had reached a consensus on the decision, saying it follows the education development trend in China, according to CNR.

"Renmin University of China rejecting international raking reflects the strong courage of Chinese universities, Chinese education, and Chinese culture to hold onto independent development," said a person in the know.

With thousands of years of development, the Chinese knowledge system is the oldest, richest and most profound knowledge system in the world, said a leader of Renmin University of China.

"We hope to develop Chinese cultural traditions in an innovative way, create China's independent knowledge system, and safeguard China's education and cultural independence," he added.

In addition to Renmin University of China, Nanjing University and Lanzhou University have also withdrawn from international university rankings. Nanjing University made it clear in its 14th Five-Year Plan Formulation that the university would not take improving international rankings as an important development goal.

The international ranking is a coin with two sides, said Wang Peng, associate professor of Renmin University of China.

Wang pointed out that, on the one hand, Chinese universities have achieved better development regarding rankings. In the past decades, Chinese universities have found their shortcomings and made great progress through international exchanges and evaluation system rankings.

However, Chinese universities should not blindly believe in the rankings, as they may not reflect the overall situation of a university. Besides academic research, universities also shoulder the responsibility to guide society, boost people's wisdom, and cultivate more talents, which is the ultimate development goal of Chinese universities.