A Passage from a Conversation on Higher-Education Reform
(July 12, 1968)
Universities should still be run; what I am emphasizing here is that science and engineering universities should continue to operate. However, the length of the academic program must be shortened, education must undergo revolution, and proletarian politics must take the lead. We should follow the path pioneered by the Shanghai Machine Tool Plant—training technical personnel from among the working class. Students should be selected from among workers and peasants who have practical experience; after studying at school for a few years, they should return to production practice. [1]
Notes
Printed according to the July 22, 1968 issue of People’s Daily.
[1] This is a passage from a conversation Mao Zedong had on July 12, 1968, at the Great Hall of the People, when he met with members of the Central Cultural Revolution Group’s Standing Committee. In an editor’s note accompanying an investigative report titled “Looking at the Path of Training Engineering and Technical Personnel Through the Example of the Shanghai Machine Tool Plant,” published in the People’s Daily on July 22, 1968, this passage was quoted in bold type. Prior to publication, the editor’s note was submitted to Mao Zedong for review, and he made revisions to the quoted text; see note [1] on page 509 of this volume. The present text represents Mao’s revised version.