PhD hawks Fried Chicken, Wu Bao-chun Refused an EMBA

PhD hawks Fried Chicken, Wu Bao-chun Refused an EMBA
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
March 22, 2013

Summary: Not a single university on Taiwan has been willing to admit Wu Bao-chun into an EMBA program. Meanwhile Singapore universities are aggressively recruiting students from Taiwan. This has provoked more "If Singapore can, why can't Taiwan?" arguments. The Ministry of Education is reportedly considering modifying the rules for EMBA enrollment. If this was the result of the Wu Bao-chun controversy, that may not be a bad thing. But such improvements remain piecemeal.

Full Text below:

Not a single university on Taiwan has been willing to admit Wu Bao-chun into an EMBA program. Meanwhile Singapore universities are aggressively recruiting students from Taiwan. This has provoked more "If Singapore can, why can't Taiwan?" arguments. The Ministry of Education is reportedly considering modifying the rules for EMBA enrollment. If this was the result of the Wu Bao-chun controversy, that may not be a bad thing. But such improvements remain piecemeal.

Having graduated from junior high, Wu Bao-chun now hopes to obtain an EMBA degree. Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the spectrum, we find contrary examples. Recently a PhD opening up a hawkers stand and selling fried chicken made the news. Some people blasted this development. Others praised it. Terry Gou said the PhD should be taxed for "wasting educational resources." But reportedly his fried chicken is "selling like hotcakes." Presumably many people are only too happy to patronize this PhD's hawker stand.

Wu Bao-chun lacks academic credentials. But he won a world competition. Others have doctoral degrees, but have set up hawker stands selling fried chicken. These represent polar opposites. But both seem to suggest that academic credentials are worthless. Wu Bao-chun nevertheless wants to return to the "ivied halls of learning" to acquire more knowledge. He heads up a 200 million NT per year enterprise. He constantly encourages his staff to pursue their studies and to learn foreign languages. He is afraid people will cite his example to argue that academic credentials are worthless. He would prefer that people cite his example as evidence that one never knows when book learning will pay off.

Actually the moral of today's story is not that academic credentials are worthless, but that the value of the knowledge should be commensurate with the price tag for academic credentials. The educational system on Taiwan values form over substance. The traditional notion that "through books one attains wealth" needs reevaluation.

PhDs are undervalued. Either that, or academic credentials are overvalued. This is true all over. One need not single out Taiwan. A PhD setting up a hawker stand to sell fried chicken is of course an extreme case. But people with advanced degrees holding down odd jobs, teaching remedial classes, and job-shopping, is a widespread phenomenon. From one perspective, having everyone acquire more book learning, is hardly a bad thing. But from another perspective, its is hardly the most efficient use of the nation's resources. The government spends immense sums of money subsidizing public universities. It provides graduate students with all sorts of allowances. It even provides a minimum salary of 22,000 NT. If university graduates cannot apply what they have learned, it is indeed a waste. Therefore economists should urge the government to reduce such ineffective subsidies.

In the final analysis, parents and students who insist that book learning is an investment, need to reassess the distinction between the price they paid for a diploma, and the value they can expect to receive from it. The Information Age involves rapid change. It values innovation. It considers book learning less valuable than common sense. Its heroes often lack academic credentials. Tsai Pei-ran is able to study at Harvard while working as a male model. Univerity students seek to become disciples of Wu Bao-chun. As we can see, having some sort of skill, is better than having diplomas good only as wallpaper.

The world is rapidly changing. Social values must change in accord. Changes to the existing framework are also long overdue. In recent years, Wu Bao-chun, Jason Wu, and a string of "shining lights of Taiwan" in sports show that young peoples' values are changing. Many of them are learning baking, interior design, carpentry, catering, and auto repair. They are finding their own route to success. The old saw that "All else is beneath contempt, only book learning is exalted." must be amended. Many older generation parents and teachers must learn to respect young people who are pursuing their own dreams. They need to realize that people can excel in any field.

Ensuring that people excel in any field however, is not merely a matter of personal confidence. The system must also offer flexibility. It must encourage people to break out of the mold. It must provide an environment that enables people to excel in any field. In recent years, Yen Chang-shou and other high tech leaders have called for increased technical and vocational training and certification. Rapid growth has resulted in over 150 universities. But this has led to a shortage in technical and vocational education that must be met.

This surfeit of universities was ironically accompanied by the example of Wu Bao-chun unable to gain entry to a single EMBA program. The Ministry of Education should attempt to restore the universities' status as "temples of learning" and not mere diploma mills. Many technical and vocational school trained masters have become university professors. But a master baker who wanted to become a student was turned down. Wu Bao-chun is not the only one who wants to go back to college. Retired Honorary Chairman Bruce Cheng of Delta Electronics confessed that he wanted to return to college to learn astronomy. But under the current system, that is easier said than done. Relying on community colleges to impart systematic knowledge is not enough. The Ministry of Education must encourage existing universities to offer continuing education. They must be flexible and willing to reform. Wu Bao-chun will not be the only one who benefits.

博士賣雞排vs.吳寶春念不成EMBA
【聯合報╱社論】
2013.03.22 03:56 am

吳寶春被台灣的大學拒於ＥＭＢＡ學程之外，同時傳出新加坡大學積極跨海搶人，這下子又炒熱了「新加坡能，為什麼台灣不能？」的題目。據說教育部考慮修改有關ＥＭＢＡ的入學規則，如果真的從此多一個「吳寶春條款」，未嘗不好，但這仍是頭痛醫頭。

國中畢業的吳寶春想念ＥＭＢＡ，但另一端也有迥然相反的例子。最近有一則博士賣雞排的新聞，有人罵有人誇，郭台銘說應課「浪費教育資源稅」，但據說近來此攤的雞排大賣，想必不少民眾願意給這個「博士老闆」加油打氣。

吳寶春不靠學歷而拿了世界冠軍，但也有人頂著博士學歷擺攤賣雞排。這兩個例子以極端的對照，好像同在演繹「學歷無用論」。但吳寶春終究想回到知識的殿堂多學一點，他掌管著年營業額兩億的事業，時時鼓勵員工進修、學外語，還說過最怕外界拿他的例子去強調「學歷無用」，看來他寧可用自身事例示範「書到用時方恨少」。

其實，今天這些故事的核心，不是學歷有沒有用，而是「學歷的價碼」與「知識的價值」的比較；而在此思辨之間，也正凸顯了台灣教育體制的形式主義，對於「書中自有黃金屋」的傳統概念也該有一番檢驗。

博士貶值，或曰學歷的「通貨膨脹」，全球皆然，不必獨責台灣。博士去擺攤賣雞排，當然是極端的例子；但高學歷者只能打零工、教補習班、兼差賺鐘點費，則比比皆是。從某個角度看，全民多念點書，總不會是壞事。但從國家資源使用效率的角度評量，政府花大錢補貼公立大學，還要補貼研究生的種種津貼，甚至照顧就業的二十二Ｋ，卻如果畢業生不能學以致用，確實是極大的浪費。所以經濟學家多會主張政府減少這種無效益的補貼。

歸根究柢，家長和學生如果堅持要把念書當成一種「投資」，則應該認清楚文憑的「價錢」和「價值」，重新審慎估量。資訊快速變遷的時代，講究創新的時代，「有知識不如有常識」，且各路英雄不怕學歷低。蔡沛然固然可以一面讀哈佛一面當男模，而大學生搶著拜吳寶春為師的亦不乏其人，可見一技在身，確實強過「文憑當壁紙」太多了！

而在當今這種快速變遷的背景下，一方面社會的價值觀應跟著變化，另方面制度的框架更是早該調整了。近年來隨著吳寶春、吳季剛，乃至於體育領域的各個「台灣之光」的示範，年輕人的價值觀確實已在慢慢改變之中，學烘焙，學設計，學木工，學餐飲管理，學汽車修理當黑手……，各有「路是無限的寬廣」的出路。這種氣氛下，需要修正「萬般皆下品，唯有讀書高」的陳腐觀念者，反而多是父母師長那一輩，應該重新學習尊重年輕人如繁星般的各種夢想追求，也要對「行行出狀元」有一點信心。

不過，要使行行出狀元，也不全是個人的信心問題，而要從制度上給予彈性，鼓勵突破，製造「條條大路通羅馬」的有利環境。近年從嚴長壽到科技界領袖，都一再呼籲應強化技職訓練和證照專業的機制，讓台灣快速擴張出一百五十多所大學反而造成技職教育的斷層能補足起來。

但是，既有這些「超額大學」存在，卻又並排出現了吳寶春想念ＥＭＢＡ卻不得其門而入的例子；可見，教育部從制度面應規畫如何使大學回歸「知識的殿堂」，而不只是「文憑販賣所」。許多無文憑的技職達人能到大學當老師，但麵包達人想作學生卻被拒。想回大學念書的不是只有吳寶春；已退休的台達電榮譽董事長鄭崇華日前表白，最想回大學去念天文，但在目前體制下談何容易？傳授系統性知識的任務，光靠目前的「社區大學」是不夠的。教育部如果能在「推動現有大學施行終身教育」的目標上作出彈性設計和改革，則受惠者即不只吳寶春一人！