Two admission officers from Tsinghua University and Peking University persuade a girl whose score in this year's national college entrance exams was among the top 10 in Guangdong province to choose their colleges. [Photo/IC]

The Ministry of Education recently issued a notice, reiterating that institutions of high learning should not enroll good students in an abnormal manner. Such a reminder is indeed necessary, given the malpractices in enrollment that have been exposed in recent years. Putting a stop to the malpractices will ensure an orderly and fair enrollment system based on students' academic performances.

Competition among domestic universities and colleges for top scorers in the National College Entrance Exams is fierce, and the merits of the ways and means some universities employ to enroll students has been hotly debated. For example, to enroll zhuangyuan, the students who gain the highest academic score in their respective regions, some institutions of high learning will send a special car to their homes or promise them a significant amount of money. Some prestigious universities such as Peking and Tsinghua universities have also joined the scramble to sign up such seemingly high-flying students.

In fact, the development of high-learning institutions and higher-learning education relies on competition. To attract the best-performing students through exhibiting their academic advantages and offering a better academic environment should not be a target for controversy and criticism.

However, the use of abnormal means and ways for this purpose is not only against the principle of equitable enrollment, it also damages the images and reputations of the universities involved.

The reputation of a university largely lies in its own academic performance and its ability to attract high quality teachers. The enrollment of a certain number of students with high academic scores should not be the leading criteria to judge a university's merit and status. Only by upholding the right values itself and can a university nurture the best students.

The above is an abridgement of a People's Daily article published on Wednesday