China is a vast and fascinating country where adherence to traditions goes hand-in-hand with science and technology. The Ancient Wall of China is a case in point. Here a massive structure built with cutting-edge technology 
was begun 2,200 years ago to keep out nomadic tribes who might have brought with them new skills.
It seems this could be so with Chinese Graduate School education too. A nation historically adept at keeping citizens in their place is struggling to adapt to the demand for advanced skills made by its exponentially growing economy. Could this shortfall be the next Great Wall of China that holds back the tide of progress new skills bring?
Chinese Undergraduate Schools are almost countless these days and new ones are being commissioned in large cities daily. These are feeding a plethora of skills to industries whose appetites appear insatiable for artisans, accountants and technicians.
1.5 million students registered to write Chinese Graduate School examinations last week. That sounds impressive until one realizes that these represented just 0.11 % of the population – hardly enough to propel China into 21st Century Technology rapidly enough. This imbalance with feeder undergraduate education systems may also frustrate gifted Chinese students sufficiently to pack their bags and leave.
Even China’s elite Peking and Tsinghua Universities place more emphasis on undergraduate education and have seen their quality of their graduate programs challenged. Analysts have suggested that this may in part be the result of a 
preference at employer level for cheaper Chinese undergraduate school leavers.
At this rate it will take many years for Chinese Graduate School education to catch up with its junior Chinese education partner because it seems the collective will is weak. Just as China relies on imports of specialist tools and parts, will it soon be importing finest graduates from Western Nations too?
