The Correlation Between A University Degree and Success in Asian Cultures

A university degree is deemed to be the golden ticket to success in most Asian countries. Unlike many of our Western counterparts, Asian students don’t typically question the need or importance of university. From a young age, our parents, grandparents, and even extended family have geared us towards higher education - so much so that we forget that it isn’t compulsory. Of course, the debate isn’t about whether a good education is worth it - working hard is a small price to pay for future job and income security.

But what defines a good education?

According to many students and parents, a university degree is the highest standard of a good education. Every year, pressure to get into the most prestigious schools mounts, as students achieve record-breaking scores in university entrance exams, and the bar is set even higher for the subsequent candidates. This phenomenon of “exam fever” is particularly commonplace in Asian countries, where the pressure-cooker exam systems are notorious for being hellish and overwhelming. Countries like China, South Korea and Japan all have their own trademark entrance exams - the gaokao, suneung, and center test respectively. Hong Kong is no exception, as we have the dreaded DSE to call our own. Although all exam systems mentioned above have produced students with excellent academic results, they are constantly criticized for stifling creativity and curiosity as these exams reward students for their pure and rote learning rather than critical thinking.

This is no illusion - something needs to change. Although countries like China and Japan have vowed to include diverse standards for student evaluation and to relieve workload, we are far from reaching a perfect system. The fierce competition for university places traps students in vicious exam systems and years of intense studying. During exam season, stress amounts to such an enormous level such that Japanese students dubbed the period of preparation as “juken jigoku”, or “examination hell”. This stress is enormous enough for Chinese students to dedicate themselves to gruelling schedules of rote memorization.

This stress is enormous enough to make suicide the leading cause of death among South Korean teenagers and youth.

The reasons for exam fever in Asian countries can be boiled down to cultural and societal differences. In Asia, unlike the UK, US, and other Western countries, the university you attend can make the difference between having a coveted professional career or a lifetime of hard labour. As a result, Asian families are more exam-oriented and will harbour higher expectations for their children. When the Japanese government recently took steps to reduce student workload, it was met with criticism rather than praise from parents concerned about the country’s drop from first to fourth place in 2003 on the PISA mathematics literacy test.

Students are not the only demographic hugely impacted by exam fever. Many Asian parents also undergo extreme lengths - and are increasingly willing to take financial blows - for their children's high academic achievement. Studies have shown that parents spend high levels of spending on their child’s education in China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and India. They often forfeit personal time for the sake of pushing children towards academic success, and would rather fund education than to make ends meet. Some even wind up deep in debt.

As countries undergo economic and academic improvements, parents can afford to send their children abroad to avoid exams like the gaokao, where society places more emphasis on a child’s all-round development rather than exam scores. But for those in the lower classes who have limited social mobility, getting into a good school and a good job is the only way to climb up the ladder.

Fundamental changes need to be made to protect those vulnerable to the widespread exam fever. One glaring issue is the education systems in Asia. Students are constantly subject to tests and encouraged to cram, forced to neglect their other interests - all for the end goal of getting into university. The rigid education methods in Asian countries are incredibly restrictive. To adapt our education systems, we can look to Finland for a good example; though there is no official title, Finland’s education system has been repeatedly named as the best in the world. Though Finnish students have shorter school hours and no standardized tests, they still boast high academic achievements (such as top scores on the PISA test). Finnish schools prioritize project-based assessments and individual grading, as well as manageable workloads, granting students time for personal growth and activities outside of school. Such measures allow Finnish students to foster non-academic skills and develop more flexible views surrounding higher education and career prospects.

Desire for a university degree - and the notion that success will certainly follow it - continues to consume Asian parents and students. Not only do changes in education systems need to be made, but the unhealthy cultural standards in Asia need to be acknowledged. Utterly skewed work-life balances should no longer be seen as the norm. Creativity and transferable skills should be promoted as equally important as accuracy in a multiple-choice test. University is not fit for everyone, and should no longer be the golden standard for success in today’s rapidly evolving world.