Some Chinese universities have inflated graduate employment figures by issuing bogus work contracts as millions struggle to find work amid the global downturn, an official newspaper said yesterday.
The financial crisis has intensified the problem of graduate unemployment, which stems from rapidly increasing enrolment at Chinese universities, many of which fail to adequately train their graduates.
If widespread, this could cast doubt on recent official reports that graduate unemployment has now substantially eased, with an estimated 6.1 million new graduates in China this year.
China’s leaders fear widespread disillusionment among youngsters could spark unrest.
The China Daily said some universities, particularly second tier ones, had been “faking” work contracts or employment agreements for graduates to fudge employment rates and deliver satisfactory performance reports to officials.
In Internet chatrooms such as Tianya (www.tianya.cn), recent postings by graduates suggest the problem exists in provinces across China, including Guangdong, Hubei, Zhejiang and Shaanxi.
“Faking employment rates is not an isolated case and it has existed for years in China,” an unnamed education expert was quoted as saying by the China Daily.
The People’s Daily reported this week that 84 percent of new graduates had found jobs by last month, up from the same period a year ago and a sharp contrast with earlier reports of students battling in vain to nail down work.
In March, authorities in southern Guangdong province said only 10 percent of its graduates had found work.
The reputation of Chinese universities is often linked to the ability of graduates to find work, which may have led second tier schools to gloss over their figures, the China Daily reported.
At some universities, failure to secure employment can sometimes mean students aren’t issued with diplomas, forcing students to seek fake work contracts.
The Ministry of Education said nearly two-thirds of this year’s graduates had found jobs by early this month, the paper added. But other research suggests the fraction is far lower.
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
‘MOBILIZED’: While protesters countered ICE agents, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activated the state’s National Guard to ‘support the rights of Minnesotans’ to assemble Hundreds of counterprotesters drowned out a far-right activist’s attempt to hold a small rally in support of US President Donald Trump’s latest immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday, as the governor’s office announced that National Guard troops were mobilized and ready to assist law enforcement, although not yet deployed to city streets. There have been protests every day since the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ramped up immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul by bringing in more than 2,000 federal officers. Conservative influencer Jake Lang organized an anti-Islam, anti-Somali and pro-US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
NASA on Saturday rolled out its towering Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft as it began preparations for its first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years. The maneuver, which takes up to 12 hours, would allow the US space agency to begin a string of tests for the Artemis 2 mission, which could blast off as early as Feb. 6. The immense orange and white SLS rocket, and the Orion vessel were slowly wheeled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and painstakingly moved 6.5km to Launch Pad 39B. If the
RSS