野鸡 yějī literally means "pheasant" but figuratively means "unlicensed / off-the-books / illegitimate." The same prefix appears in
野鸡车 yějīchē (unlicensed taxi) and
野鸡网站 yějī wǎngzhàn (sketchy website). Diploma-mill scandals (especially overseas "
美国野鸡大学") are a recurring topic in Chinese education news.
