The number of students expected to take part in tomorrow's
national postgraduate entrance examination has dropped for the
first time in a decade.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) said yesterday that 1.2 million
people have registered for the exam this year, down 6 percent on
last year.
Education experts have attributed the decline to the falling
number of employment opportunities for fresh graduates with
master's degrees or doctorates.
"Social values have changed now as employers do not focus solely
on educational qualifications but on real ability," Mao Zuhuan, a
professor from the Beijing University of Science and Technology,
said.
Jiang Baojin, CEO of a private company in Nanjing, Jiangsu
province, said his company employs people who can provide the most
benefits for the least expense.
"If an undergraduate and a graduate have similar experience we
will choose the undergraduate to save money," Jiang said.
In addition, some colleges and universities have introduced a
pilot reform that removes free education for some
postgraduates.
Sichuan University, on the other hand, has said it will
implement a scholarship scheme for postgraduate studies this
year.
MOE spokesman Wang Xuming said people have previously "taken for
granted" the idea that postgraduate students have brighter
employment prospects than others.
"Large numbers of undergraduates chose postgraduate study to
delay entering the fierce job market," he said.
However, many employers are now looking for people with more
practical experience, he said.
Some universities have strengthened personal development
counseling and employment guidance in recent years, asking students
to learn more work-related skills before choosing further
education.
Signs of a cooling down of attendance for the postgraduate
entrance exam began to emerge last year when 1.28 million people
registered, just 7,000 more than in 2006.
Students also now have more opportunities to continue their
education abroad.
Du Ran, a third-year undergraduate studying at the Communication
University of China, said: "The postgraduate entrance exam is too
difficult and the competition is too fierce.
"So I am preparing to go to Hong Kong to study for my master's
degree."
(China Daily January 18, 2008)
