Top-rated Peking University in China plans on screening its students to find those with "radical thoughts," "eccentricity" and other like characteristics, reports the Guardian.
According to a university press release, the program is designed to identify students who are struggling academically and encourage them "to achieve all-round development of talents" through individual consultations.
Deputy director of the student work department Zha Jing said in an interview that identifying students with radical thoughts should not be seen as an effort to censor them. "It should be pointed out that the consultation means neither control nor punishment on students," he said.
He added, however, that students with radical proclivities could benefit from consultations, "We've noticed that some students have radical thoughts or bigoted character, encountering difficulties in interpersonal communication, social adaptiveness, and their studies," he said. "They cannot analyze and handle their problems in daily life in a rational and manifold way."
But many are concerned that such a program will limit students' freedom and strip the institution of its reform-friendly reputation.
The program began on a trial basis in November, and will be implemented throughout the university in May.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that a student spy network, called Student Information Systems, was in place at several Chinese universities. The system was founded after the 1989 Tienamen Square protests to keep watch on campuses.