Postgraduates outstrip demand

Experts are calling for more attention to the quality rather than the quantity of postgraduates, as the employment rate of people with Master's and PhDs has seen a precipitous drop in recent years, according to a soon-to-be released study by Wuhan University.

The study of more than 30 universities found that at some institutions postgraduates outnumber undergraduates, reported the Wuhan Evening News on Sunday.

The Ministry of Education and the National Development and Reform Commission in May said that the number of registered postgraduates more than doubled between 2003 and 2012. 

Some experts suggest more students are studying for higher degrees because their job prospects are not good. 

"Some institutions urge their undergrads to take postgraduate studies because postgraduate admissions are counted in the employment rate of their undergraduates," Li Kongzhen, associate professor with the Capital Normal University, told the Global Times.

The move may ultimately backfire for both students and their institutions as the employment rate of postgraduates in 2012 was lower than that of graduates. The newspaper reported that 86.62 percent of postgraduates found jobs while 90.30 percent of graduates were employed after graduation.

According to another study, the employment rate of people with a Master's degree has been in decline since 2005 and fell below the employment rate for new undergraduates from 2009 to 2011.

Statistics for this year's graduates have not yet been released.

"A result of increasing enrollment is that the number of postgraduates has far exceeded the demand. Meanwhile, the capacity to teach the increased number of postgraduates has lagged, causing lower quality education," Qiu Junping, an expert on education evaluation with Wuhan University, told the Global Times.

In 2012, 1,655,000 people applied to study for a postgraduate degree and 584,416 were admitted.

Among those admitted, 517,200 study for a Master's degree while 67,216 for a doctorate.

"Education authorities should focus on the job market requirements and improving the quality of postgraduate education instead of expanding enrollment," Qiu added.

Registration for this year's national postgraduate entrance exam will close at the end of this month, and the exams will be held on January 5 and 6.