Postgraduate entrance exam takers drop

As the written examinations for China's 2024 National Postgraduate Entrance Exam (NPEE) kicked off on Saturday, the number of applicants for the exams has dropped for the first time since 2015, data from the Ministry of Education (MOE) showed on Sunday. Experts said that the decline could to some extent be a sign of more rational thinking among Chinese graduates when choosing their future direction, but noted that the country still needs to provide more diverse job options for young people.

According to the statistics from MOE, the number of applicants for the NPEE was 4.38 million for the 2024 exams, an 8 percent decrease from the 2023 number. 

Experts noted that the decline is worth noting but it doesn't mean the NPEE has become less popular among undergraduates. 

"The applicants for 2024 is still 2.65 times the number of that for 2015, which was 1.65 million. This still shows an apparent popularity," Xiong Bingqi, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute in Beijing, told the Global Times on Sunday, noting it is difficult to pass judgment on the trend based on a single year's change in data.

MOE said that the number of Chinese college graduates was 11.58 million in 2023 and is likely to reach a record high of 11.87 million in 2024, an increase of 290,000 graduates. That is to say, the number of college graduates will increase in 2024 whereas the number of applicants for postgraduate studies decreases. 

Experts have attributed this year's decline to the fierce competition over the past two years when job opportunities were curbed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Many graduates chose to continue their studies as an option for getting through this difficult period. But the situation has become better this year with applicants for postgraduate studies finding their way out of school other than furthering their studies," said Tan Xiudi, director of the Education Evaluation Center at Tongji University.

Besides this, the 25 percent low acceptance rate of the NPEE is also a factor that dissuades attendees, said experts. 

For example, statistics show that more than 70 percent postgraduate students admitted to Tsinghua University will be recruited through recommendations in 2024, and more than 60 percent of postgraduate students admitted to Peking University will be recruited through recommendation. 

Considering the acceptance rate, the time spent in postgraduate studies and other factors such as financial costs and opportunity costs, more and more students have become more rational in pondering on the choice between furthering their studies and other options, experts noted. 

Experts noted that the decline in the number of applicants for postgraduate studies is the result of more opportunities being available compared with the pandemic period and the increase in civil servant recruitment for 2024.

A teacher from a university in Beijing told the Global Times on Sunday that the number of students in his class who plan to study abroad after graduation next year is double the number of those who applied for postgraduate studies.

According to the National Civil Service Administration, a total of 3.03 million candidates passed the qualification examination to sit the national public servant exams, an increase of 435,300 compared with that in 2022, or 16.76 percent year-on-year. 

Additionally, the increasingly fierce competition in job-seeking among postgraduates and even PhD holders also makes people understand that a higher education background does not necessarily assure a well-paying job.