How to Ensure Quality Postgraduate Education After Expansion？

According to Ministry of Education statistics， 2020 will see the number of postgraduate students surpass 3 million， from 629 in 1949.

Enrollment to postgraduate studies will total more than 1.1 million this year， up from 242 in 1949 and 10，700 in 1978， when the country adopted the reform and opening-up policy. In 1990， only 19.6 percent of full-time teachers in Chinas colleges and universities had a masters or doctoral degree， while the number reached 64.1 percent last year， the ministry said.

China is also becoming a major destination for international students. As of 2019， 52 countries and regions had signed agreements with China on mutual recognition of academic degrees and 91，000 international students from 203 countries and regions are pursuing masters or doctoral degrees in China.

The rapid expansion of postgraduate education is designed to serve the countrys development， which demands competent personnel. To survive the current fierce science and technology（sci-tech） competition， world-class postgraduate education has become a must.

At the same time， the future of this education needs to be considered carefully. An overly aggressive expansion may drag down its quality. If a masters degree becomes devalued， it would lead to a waste of resources.

Realistic reasons

Xiong Bingqi （www.gmw.cn）： There are realistic reasons for expanding postgraduate enrollment. If a bigger proportion of graduates go to postgraduate schools， the employment pressure will lessen. This year， 189，000 new seats were added to masters programs. It was a great relief for both graduates and government departments tasked with promoting employment.

Nowadays， while the number of graduates is climbing， so is the number of returned overseas students. With so much talent available， companies and organizations now have higher academic demands for job applicants.

As a result， more and more graduates are finding that if they do not possess a masters degree， its impossible to find a satisfactory job， let alone a good one. So more graduates are opting for postgraduate education. This may devalue a masters degree as a masters is becoming the threshold for getting a job in many industries.

Meanwhile， by offering postgraduate education， colleges that used to offer only undergraduate education have raised their academic education to a higher level.

To meet societys different demands， different levels of talent have to be nurtured. If postgraduate education is not based on this actual demand but is just meant to make the education record of the country look better， it will mean wasting money and other resources on education when they could have served other areas.

Students will also have to spend more time， money and energy on a meaningless degree， which amounts to a waste of educational and social resources.

The best way to ensure quality education is by not blindly recruitin g graduate students for jobs but ascertaining if they have the required ability， no matter what their education background is. If a college graduate can do the work as well as a postgraduate or even better， there is no need for a postgraduate degree that requires an extra two or three years.

Its not easy to maintain quality when enrollment is increasing. So its better to stop expanding seats if there is no urgent need. The key is to make higher education more competitive.

Double identity

Zhao Enuo （edu.people.com.cn）： As China develops， the gap between Chinese higher education institutions and those outside is narrowing. Postgraduate education is becoming increasingly important in the new era. Chinas modernization drive needs the talent of postgraduates more than ever before. They support Chinas innovationoriented modernization and overall improvement of society.

The new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation across the world and the fierce competition in cutting-edge sci-tech mean highly competent professionals and technological innovation have become the decisive force for winning the competition. This requires China to invest more and do more to promote its postgraduate education.

Postgraduate education faces the urgent tasks of training high-caliber personnel， pooling talent for a particular project， and becoming a hotbed of innovation. Higher education institutions have to polish their disciplines and research， provide more tutors， and develop new models of education. They should also learn from the experience of renowned foreign universities and institutions.

Regarding overall improvement of society， during the novel coronavirus outbreak， more than 10，000 doctoral students and postgraduates in clinical medicine stayed at their post， using their professional knowledge to serve the people. It showed their high morality.

Wu Chaohui （www.eol.cn）： Higher education institutions should focus on key scitech research areas and train professionals that are in demand. Postgraduate education should combine innovation with talent nurturing and play a greater role in helping in the nations overall development.

Postgraduate education， which harnesses premium education resources from across the country and even the world， is the foundation for innovation and creativity. Postgraduate students are a precious talent pool that is expected to contribute to Chinas sci-tech revolution. They have the double identity of being a student and also a scholar. They can pioneer online and offline innovation. Their combined talent and resources can be used to improve research and development. Their collaboration with their tutors in research and innovation programs can constitute a strong force for academic and even industrial innovation.

Higher education institutions are supposed to optimize their education structures so that resources can be directed to sci-tech research most needed by society. These institutions should make it possible for postgraduate students to grow in sci-tech and innovation. They also have the obligation to raise students competitiveness in the new round of global competition.

Xu Xiangdong （www.rednet.cn）： Postgraduate education is one of the bedrocks of the countrys science development and social progress.

Postgraduate education institutions should have their own specializations and preeminence in certain research fi elds. Its important that they keep upgrading their traditionally strong disciplines to meet societys evolving demand. While preserving their traditional advantages， they should also try to advance in new disciplines and areas. Postgraduate education should center on research on sci-tech innovation.

These institutions should replenish and upgrade their tutor teams with scientists， senior professionals and young talent since besides a free and innovation-driven academic atmosphere， qualifi ed tutors are crucial.