Two police academies, administered by China's Ministry of Public
Security, will stop recruiting undergraduate students starting this
year, reports Southern Metropolitan News.
Those who want to join the police force should obtain bachelor's
degrees from other universities before entering Chinese People's
Public Security University or China Criminal Police University, for
a two-year professional education.
Chinese People's Public Security University told the newspaper
that the reform, decided by the Ministry of Public Security,
follows the international practice in developed nations, where
police academies are places to provide candidates with expertise
training, instead of academic knowledge, and candidates are
selected only from people who have already received higher
education.
Meanwhile, Chinese People's Public Security University has
handed in a 2-way reform scheme for approval from the Ministry of
Public Security. One approach is for the university to grant a
degree of public security for graduates who have gained a first
degree elsewhere upon finishing a two-year professional
training.
Another plan is for police universities to recruit "students"
from local police teams and give them professional training.
An insider from the Ministry of Public Security says the
recruitment of police force candidates from graduates with
different majors is believed to be more effective in the fight
against increasing crimes that are more complicated and
better-concealed with the use of high-tech means.
Though it is confirmed that such a reform will start from these
two universities and then be carried out nationwide, the
municipalities of Beijing and Shanghai have stopped giving academic
lessons in police academies in 2007 and 2003, respectively.
Some netizens think the reform indicates a complete end to the
responsibility of Chinese police universities in issuing bachelor's
degrees for students who are taught by teachers without work
experience in the police force.
On the other hand, the compulsory academic lessons designed for
students in police universities are inadequate, which netizens say
is the reason for the incompetence shown by police university
graduates when they have to compete for jobs with graduates
elsewhere.
Statistics show that in recent years less than 30 percent of
police university graduates have been employed in local police
teams.
?(CRI January 2, 2008)