[00:01.17]Topic 4

[00:02.68]Should Universities Give Priority

[00:04.98]to Practical Courses for Students?

[00:08.47]Because of the demands in the job market,

[00:10.90]students with "hot" degrees such as computer science

[00:14.07]or finance are more likely to get a job

[00:17.05]than students with a "cold" degree like geography.

[00:20.10]Some people say that universities should give priority

[00:23.52]to practical courses for students.

[00:26.14]But I think that traditional courses are equally important

[00:29.93]and universities should not give priority to practical courses.

[00:34.41]First, both practical and traditional courses

[00:37.66]are needed in our country.

[00:39.84]Students who do well in different courses can help

[00:42.70]to develop different aspects of our country after their graduation.

[00:47.30]For example, our society needs not only people

[00:51.10]who can help to develop economy and technology,

[00:54.21]but also people who can contribute themselves

[00:56.82]to literature and education.

[00:59.43]Second, if universities give priority to practical courses,

[01:03.85]more students will choose those "hot" degrees.

[01:06.71]When these students graduate,

[01:08.71]they will have to fight harder for a job

[01:11.13]because there will be too many applicants with the same degrees.

[01:15.19]This will in turn cause an imbalance of supply

[01:18.49]and demand in the job market.

[01:20.91]In one word, both practical courses

[01:24.22]and traditional courses are important,

[01:26.77]and universities should not give priority to either side.