Former university official indicted for taking bribes

Nanjing municipal procuratorate accused a former university official of taking bribes of more than 10 million yuan ($1.62 million) to provide aid during student enrollment, it was announced on Monday.

Cai Rongsheng, 50, former head of the admission office of Renmin University of China (RUC) based in Beijing, took bribes to help students secure enrollment and adjust majors between 2005 and 2013, the indictment said.

He was intercepted in Shenzhen, Guangdong province as he attempted to leave for Canada in Nov 2013 with a counterfeit passport. He was detained for official investigation.

Cai's arrest and investigation, as a high-profile case in China's anti-graft battle in higher education, made national news headlines.

He helped students in independent recruitment, which could give them bonus points during the national college entrance exam. The university suspended independent recruitment last year to improve and standardize its admission process after the scandal was exposed.

"I hate bad guys in three professions, teachers, doctors and judges. Some say that they are the bottom line of social justice, and I agree," wrote Wang Xuming, a former spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Education and now president of Language and Culture Press, on his micro blog. He suggested universities should not only commemorate glorious moments in school history but also record scandals as a warning to others.

The case involved administrators in RUC, including former president Ji Baocheng and former dean of School of Education Hu Yuan.

Ji has been suspended from the Party for two years and put on good-behavior notice after being investigated for misbehavior in July. He was reported to have been suspected of improper behavior relating to university enrollment.

He was president of Renmin from 2000 to 2011, a position at vice-ministerial level. He was also a deputy of the 10th and 11th National People's Congress.

Hu was dismissed from her post in Nov 2013. As Ji's former secretary and student, she was widely questioned because of her academic background and fast promotion.

The case raised concerns over corruption in the higher education field.

Decentralizing decision-making and improving transparency can eradicate corruption at universities, experts said.

"Laws and regulations should be set up to urge universities to accept more members representing different interests in the decision-making process. Every coin spent and every personal appointment should earn approval before implementation, and records must be kept for public review," said Zhong Binglin, president of the Chinese Society of Education.