评估贫困学生补助，大数据真的公平吗？

Another school, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, had previously used students’ monthly consumption habits in the university canteen to determine who needed financial support. What Jiangsu University did, however, is more controversial because phone fees say little about a student’s financial situation.
另一所高校——南京理工大学此前也曾依据学生在学校食堂的消费情况决定谁有资格获得贫困补助。不过江苏大学的做法引起了更大的争议，因为话费并不能说明学生的经济状况。

Schools have turned to using consumption habits as a metric for poverty in an effort to spare families from public embarrassment. In the past, applications for financial support were disclosed for public scrutiny, and some families felt uncomfortable with the possibility that their private finances might be published for all to see.
为了免除学生家庭（因为经济状况暴露）在公众面前的尴尬，学校转而以消费习惯作为衡量贫困与否的标准。过去，贫困补助申请都要公开审查，这让一些家庭感到不适，因为这样他们的个人经济状况很有可能会被曝光在众目睽睽之下。

However, the use of big data, which only applies to how much students spend during a certain period of time, is still unable to identify whether they are from rich or poor families.
不过大数据只适用于调查学生在特定时间内的花销，并不能辨别出学生家庭是富裕还是贫困。

In many developed countries, college students do not have to go through these kinds of appraisals to receive subsidies. All they need is evidence of their family’s income and taxes. A fake application is usually easily identified and will become an indelible stain on a student’s record.
在许多发达国家，大学生获得资助不需要通过这类评估。他们只要将家庭的收入和纳税证明交给学校即可。造假的申请通常很容易被识破，而这将成为学生信用记录上擦不掉的污点。

Many Chinese colleges, by contrast, do require students to provide verified information about their family’s income. In certain cases, students – sometimes assisted by their families – forge their documents so they can masquerade as impoverished students. The certificates used as proof of income in China are much harder to verify.
相较之下，许多中国大学确实要求学生提供能够证明家庭收入的信息。但在某些情况下，学生，有时在家人的协助下，会对资料造假，那么他们就能伪装成贫困生了。在中国，核实贫困家庭收入证明的难度更大。

Universities that make the switch to a system based on big data face several obstacles. First, they have to be careful not to infringe upon students’ legal interests or selectively collect their information. To bolster their big data systems, some schools are using alumni networks and local governments to get a better idea of each student’s financial background. To further prevent fraudulent applications, the country also needs to keep improving the nationwide credit investigation system.
将评估体系转变为使用大数据的高校也面临着不少困难。首先，它们要小心以免损害了学生的合法权利，或者收集到的学生信息带有偏向性。作为大数据系统的补充，有些学校利用自己的校友网络和地方政府信息更准确地获得学生的经济背景。为了进一步杜绝虚假申请，我国还需要进一步完善国家信用调查体系。