School denies rumors of astrology in curriculum
| Global Times | 2013-1-5 21:21:00 By Global Times |
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Officials at Yangzhou University in Jiangsu Province have denied that the school is offering an astrology program and have clarified that astrology-related activities on campus are run by students and are for entertainment purposes only.
Wei Wanhong, dean of the College of Bioscience and Biotechnology at the university, told the Yangtze Evening Post Thursday that astrology is not promoted at the school and that it does not fit the principles of higher education.
The announcement came in response to reports online that the school had opened an astrology-related program.
According to the reports, students have been divided into 12 groups according to their astrological sun signs, and each sign has its own course content. For example, because Scorpios are thought to be intuitive and insightful, lectures on the top 10 unsolved mysteries in the bioscience field are being offered to these students. Tauruses are mature, quiet and cautious, so they will have lectures on genetic engineering, according to the newspaper.
Xu Shuiyu, head of the school's student organization which is behind the program, told the newspaper that it was adopted to dissuade students from skipping classes.
The newspaper reported that students have responded positively to the lectures, and that university authorities have no intention of using astrology as a tool in higher education.
Global Times
Wei Wanhong, dean of the College of Bioscience and Biotechnology at the university, told the Yangtze Evening Post Thursday that astrology is not promoted at the school and that it does not fit the principles of higher education.
The announcement came in response to reports online that the school had opened an astrology-related program.
According to the reports, students have been divided into 12 groups according to their astrological sun signs, and each sign has its own course content. For example, because Scorpios are thought to be intuitive and insightful, lectures on the top 10 unsolved mysteries in the bioscience field are being offered to these students. Tauruses are mature, quiet and cautious, so they will have lectures on genetic engineering, according to the newspaper.
Xu Shuiyu, head of the school's student organization which is behind the program, told the newspaper that it was adopted to dissuade students from skipping classes.
The newspaper reported that students have responded positively to the lectures, and that university authorities have no intention of using astrology as a tool in higher education.
Global Times
La noticia tal como apareció en el periódico El Mundo
Una universidad china separa a los alumnos en aulas según su horóscopo
- Profesores y estudiantes aseguran que los resultados son positivos
La Universidad de Biociencia y Beotecnología de Yangzhou, en China, ha tomado una decisión poco acorde a su perfil científico, la de separar a sus alumnos en aulas de acuerdo con su signo del zodiaco, pero además el método, según profesores y estudiantes, está dandoresultados positivos.
De acuerdo con los diarios locales, tras la aplicación de este método poco ortodoxo la asistencia a las clases ha aumentado "significativamente" y los estudiantes "están más animados y atentos en clase".
Una de las estudiantes afectadas por el cambio, Xu Xueting, aseguró al diario 'Want China Times' que siente en las clases "una extraña sensación de placer" y que ha hecho muchos amigos en su nueva clase, en la que el resto de compañeros comparten signo con ella.
Curiosamente, el horóscopo usado para la división en clases es el occidental (en el que cada signo depende, aproximadamente, del mes en el que una persona ha nacido) y no el zodiaco chino, en el que es determinado por el año, por lo que gente de igual edad suele compartir un mismo signo.
Uno de los profesores de la universidad, Zhang Erjin, señaló que el objetivo de la iniciativa es sobre todo resolver el creciente problema de absentismo entre los jóvenes chinos nacidos después de 1990, quienes, a ojos de buena parte de la sociedad del país asiático, padecen una crisis de valores.
Junto a la mera división en aulas, los profesores han recibido órdenes de dirigirse a cada clase, es decir, a cada signo zodiacal, de manera diferente: por ejemplo, a los tauro, más prácticos, se les debe impartir poca teoría.
Fuera de la universidad, la idea ha generado debate en las redes sociales chinas, donde algunos han criticado a un centro de enseñanza superior por adoptar supersticiones, mientras algunos le acusan de hacerlo sólo para darse publicidad.
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