University Education

The research of scholars are increasingly driven by the pursuit of resources rather than knowledge.  Society focuses on the ranking of universities more than the education of souls.  Professors are rewarded by their “productivity” (in terms of research output) rather than the culture of the person. 

The result is the manufacture of profit-driven individualists rather than visionary, difference-accommodating, needs-perceiving, responsible citizens.  Imagination, creativity, human-relevancy of scientific research, and discernment of truth will become rarer and rarer among the next generation. 

When many countries are becoming richer and richer, we seem to have forgotten that there are still lots of lots of people in poverty, even in the richest countries in the world.  Mother Teresa once said, “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.”

Education today stress information and skills, rather than the pursuit of truth and creativity.  Students spend much of their time on memorization, rather then reflecting on and criticizing existing ideas. 

These are not my own words.  These are, almost word for word, 中大校長沈祖堯’s words in 《香港家書》 on the first day of this year.   It was later published in Ming Pao.  It can be easily found by google-ing “沈祖堯家書”.   But I agree totally with what he said.