Management majors marked

Management majors accounted for one-third of this year's list of majors whose graduates have trouble finding jobs, the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission announced Monday.

The commission's annual alert list featured 15 majors this year, according to a post on its microblog. The management majors on the list included administrative management, management of public affairs and business management.

A major makes the list when the employment rate of its graduates falls to 60 percent or below, according to the post. Colleges and universities are supposed to reduce the number of students enrolled in those majors by 10 percent. They are also required to evaluate their curriculums to determine why the employment rates are low.

The list also serves to inform students interested in these majors about their job prospects before they take the national college entrance examinations.

"The problem is partly the result of careless expansion by local colleges and universities," said Zhang Yugui, dean of the College of International Finance and Trade at Shanghai International Studies University.

"Universities don't prepare well when they set up these majors. They don't consider whether they have enough qualified staff and don't take into account the needs of the labor market," Zhang added.

They are also unclear about what kind of graduates they are preparing, which has led to the poor course design.

"Students often end up confused and disappointed after they enroll in these majors and go on to waste four years of the lives without finding jobs upon graduation," Zhang told the Global Times.

Zhang suggested that higher education institutions need to do a better job planning ahead so they can completely grasp the intricacies of the job market and the economy.