Universities must continue to operate. I'm primarily referring to universities of science and
engineering. However, the length of study must be shortened, education must be
revolutionary, and proletarian politics must be in the driver's seat. We should follow the
path of the Shanghai Machine Tool Factory, which trained technicians from among its
workers. Students should be selected from among workers and peasants with practical
experience, and after a few years of study in universities, they should return to production
practice.

[1] This is part of a conversation Mao Zedong gave with members of the Central Cultural
Revolution Group's gathering at the Great Hall of the People on July 12, 1968. The People's
Daily quoted this passage in boldface in an editorial accompanying the investigative report,
"On the Path of Training Engineering and Technical Personnel from the Perspective of the
Shanghai Machine Tool Factory," published on July 22, 1968. The editorial was sent to Mao
Zedong for review before publication, and he revised the quotation. This article contains
Mao's revised text.