Olympiad mathematics contests organized at all levels in China are supposedly aimed at discovering outstanding mathematics talents, which raises a vital question: Why have we failed to cultivate enough top talents and where are the previous IMO first prize-winners today?

Incomplete statistics show many of the IMO gold medalists have not achieved anything extraordinary in mathematics, with some not even continuing with math. When they could free from parent's overprotective interference and finally make a choice of their own, many chose Wall Street over math, which can be seen as a huge waste of talent.

It is their highly utilitarian mentality that prevented the former math champions from pursuing academic research. Many of the prodigies who seemed to have a promising academic future lacked strong interest in math; they were forced to study hard by their parents to either get bonus points in the college entrance exam, or gaokao, or even skip it and get direct admission to a dream university. And the moment they enrolled in a top university or earned a higher education degree, their efforts to realize their "dream" soon ended. In this sense, restoring the original purpose of Olympiad math will help real talents a lot more.

Our evaluation and examination systems, too, need to be reformed. For example, if the top 5-to-10 pereducent students are categorized as grade A, the distinguishing factor among these students would no longer be their actual scores but comprehensive qualities such as values and personality. Besides, universities, on their part, should select students who best fit their requirements after comprehensive evaluation, not simply on the basis of their high scorers in gaokao.

The author is director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute.

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