For many of the country's hundreds of thousands of graduates, a
master's degree is a much more attractive option than immediate job
hunting. In 2004, 1.17 million registered for this year's national
postgraduate examination, which includes compulsory tests in
politics, English and mathematics.
The Ministry of Education announced the national qualifying mark
for the final round of examinations in all majors at the end of
last month. Last week, Beijing Institute of Technology completed
its final round of examinations for 2005's postgraduate
enrollment.
For those who failed the last round, there was little time to
reflect - many of them started anew for the 2006 enrollment
straightaway. Campus bulletin boards were flooded with
advertisements for training courses, and bookstores are furnishing
their shelves with next year's versions of textbooks and guidance
materials.
Textbooks, guidance materials and training courses together
comprise an annual business worth billions of yuan, and this does
not include the money students spend on food and lodging.
One student from the University of International Business and
Economics said he had spent over 1,500 yuan (US$181) on guidance
materials for the postgraduate examination in two years' time. For
a book on English vocabulary, complete with cassettes, the price is
over 50 yuan (US$6). A comprehensive politics guidance book
compiled by a specialist is priced at about 60 yuan (US$7).
Usually, guidance books for English and politics are multi-volume,
costing from around 100 to 200 yuan (US$12-24).
Of course, textbooks and guidance materials are no guarantee of
success in the enrollment examination. Most have to attend courses
that cost hundreds of yuan. Nearly all famous training schools
boast how accurately they can predict examination questions. One
school says in its ads that its courses cover all questions that
will appear in the test.
Another student majoring in economics said that she spent a
total of 1,650 yuan (US$200) on training courses - two on English,
three on politics.
On average, a student will spend at least 2,000 yuan (US$240) a
year on textbooks, guidance materials and training courses. For a
provincial student who comes to Beijing to prepare for their
postgraduate examination, there will also be the cost of a half
year's rent and living expenditure, which often exceeds 10,000 yuan
(US$1,200).
The sheer number of students who go for the postgraduate
examination produces an enormously profitable market for
booksellers, publishers and private training schools. People have
already called this a "postgraduate examination industry," and it
has been valued at 3 billion yuan (US$362 million) a year.
Experts say the immediate causes are rapid expansion of
undergraduate enrollment and the increasingly high demand for
diplomas by employers. Employment criteria can be too high or badly
matched to the actual work of a job. Prospective employees also
often feel they will need additional qualifications in order to
progress and be promoted once they have secured a post.
The underlying problem, say experts, appears to be a gap between
the current educational system and the changing demands of the
labor market.
(China.org.cn by Wind Gu April 10, 2005)