HONG KONG - There are signs that Chinese
students' enthusiasm for pursuing higher degrees
is on the wane, largely because holding a master's
degree or doctorate no longer offers any guarantee
of finding a suitable job. In fact it can even be
a handicap, as employers are increasingly choosing
applicants who have practical work experience over
those with impressive academic qualifications.
Rapid expansion of higher education -
especially graduate schools - in the past decade
has increasingly made it more
difficult for higher-degree
holders to find employment than
undergraduate-degree holders.
According to
figures from the Ministry of Education (MOE), the
total number of candidates enrolling for the
master's programs nationwide this year is roughly
the same as in 2006. However, in major cities such
as Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing, the number has
dropped considerably.
In Beijing, for
example, there are about 5,000 fewer applicants
for master's programs this year than last year. At
elite Tsinghua University alone, the total number
of applicants has decreased this year by 1,000, to
12,000.
The MOE said the change shows
university undergraduate students now have a more
practical attitude toward postgraduate education.
More and more now prefer to start looking for
employment after receiving their bachelor's
degree. This allows them to gain practical
experience and skills as early as possible, a
prudent move in a job market where employers now
prefer experience over educational background.
Wu Bin, director of the School of
Postgraduates at Beijing Industrial University,
attributes the decreasing tendency to pursue
higher degrees to fierce competition in the job
market, which forces students to be more
practical. The undeniable fact now is that
obtaining a higher degree does not necessarily
guarantee a good future, so it is mainly those who
really want to pursue an academic career who
choose that path.
"The present decrease in
the number of candidates for graduate studies is a
good thing," remarked Lin Jianhua, vice president
of Peking University, "for the students begin to
[put] more emphasis on enhancing skill and ability
rather than blindly pursuing a certificate of a
higher degree. This will improve the employment
situation and lead to keeping a proper ratio
between graduate and postgraduate students."
Government statistics show that among the
200,000 university graduates in Beijing in 2007,
some 50,000 hold higher degrees, up 25% from last
year.
On October 19, Beijing launched its
job-market recruitment fair for this year's
university graduates. The fair was at once
thronged with job seekers who were to leave school
this summer. On that day, 849 jobs offered by 32
employers attracted more than 2,000 postgraduates.
They formed long queues to wait to hand in their
resumes. The majority of the employers were
relatively unknown small and medium-sized
enterprises. The few larger ones joining the
recruitment campaign were such enterprises as the
National Defense Publishing House and Tsinghua
Tongfang Visio Co Ltd.
The National
Defense Publishing House received 200 applicants
at the fair, but none of them dared to state
expected salaries, which suggests that "even
higher-degree holders have lowered their
expectations", a company staffer at the fair said.
University students now simply want a job ... any
job. Earlier reports said many were satisfied with
salaries even lower than those of housemaids.
In 1982, there were only 11,000
postgraduate students across the country, while in
2006, the number grew by 30 times to reach
340,000, mainly thanks to the education
authorities' decision to expand postgraduate
student enrollment in 1999.
Female
postgraduates are in an even worse position than
men when seeking employment, because employers
often believe they will leave their jobs after
getting married and having children.
Higher-degree holders now have to travel
across the country to compete with undergraduates
for jobs that do not require high qualifications,
but skill, experience, enthusiasm, a modest
mindset and the capacity to adapt. In all these
respects, ordinary university graduates seem to be
in a better position than those holding higher
degrees.
The percentage of graduates who
sign job contracts prior to graduation has been
decreasing year after year. There was a drop from
68.2% to 40% for graduates and from 76.7% to 40.7%
for postgraduates in 2005 over 2003.
So
great is the problem that the government is now
encouraging university graduates, as well as
college and vocational-school graduates, to work
in the countryside.
A document issued by
the State Council, China's cabinet, and the
Central Committee of the Communist Party outlines
key policies to boost rural development. According
to the document, the government will improve
policies and regulations that encourage more
college and vocational-school graduates to start
their careers in the countryside.
The
government promises that graduates will be given
priority when seeking new jobs in governmental
departments or large companies after three years'
service in the countryside.
Robert
Hartmann is a freelance writer based in Hong
Kong.
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