A group of Marxist economists has petitioned the education minister to immediately increase the number of Marxist courses for economics students to safeguard what they call the country's "ideological security."

The letter, co-authored by Henan University scholar Xu Xingya and He Ganqiang, a retired Nanjing University of Finance and Economics professor, states that Marxist economic courses should make up at least half of the core courses for economics majors.

It states that the declining number of Marxist economic courses, which is only half or a third the number of Western economic courses, has "severely deviated college economics education from the socialist direction."

The letter said many undergraduate and graduate students now lack knowledge of Marxist methodology and some, including those who have and will work in government, have been "brainwashed by Western theories," posing a grave threat to the country's security.

"The Westernization of economic [thought] was one of the reasons for the Soviet Union's collapse, which was why we have written this letter," He told the Global Times in a phone interview on Monday.

He said at least a few dozen scholars support their petition, which called for an immediate increase in Marxist economic courses after the summer vacation.

"Increasing the number of Marxist economic courses will inevitably be discouraged by the existing Western forces at universities. It is in essence an ideological class struggle wherein the bourgeois class clashes with the proletariat class in education," he noted.

Xu told the Global Times that they are disappointed that the Marxist economics is being sidelined in today's China and that they would like to see the Ministry of Education release a notice to call for a revival of the courses.

China's Education Minister Yuan Guiren said in 2015 that Chinese universities should maintain political integrity and shun textbooks that promote Western values.

The letter also said since Marxism was born, schools of economic thought have been divided into two camps, namely the working class camp and the bourgeois class camp.

But Peking University economics professor Cao Heping said he disagrees with the Marxist scholars.

He told the Global Times that what the letter considers "Western schools of economics" are actually tools in the study of economics and can be used to solve many practical problems.

He said Marxist economics talks more about values and the development of tools serves to complement the study of values.

"If China really wants to prevail in economic thought, it should focus on promoting relevant research and earn respect in the field, rather than force certain courses on students," Cao said.

The letter was sent following a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 17, in which Xi called for reinforcing the guiding status of Marxism in the ideological domain.