The decision to recruit more graduates should be based on the need for talents in the future rather than an expediency to mitigate the current employment pressure, says an article in the Beijing Times. The following is an excerpt:

It is reported that the Ministry of Education will allow universities to recruit 50,000 more graduates this year, and the quotas will be mainly set aside for senior students in colleges, who are facing the choice of either plunging themselves into the gloomy job market or continuing their studies.

It's good news for those students who are planning further studies. Meanwhile, the decision to recruit graduates also gives them a cushion against the job-finding predicament being faced by millions of Chinese students. Besides, the move will stimulate the consumption of these students since they will pay tuitions fees as well as room and board charges.

But it won't seem appropriate if the expansion is not based on the real needs of the society for academic talents. If it is designed just for easing the current employment pressure, it will not solve the problem, but only delay it.

(China Daily February 28, 2009)