College Students Must Work Before Graduate School, China Decrees
The Chinese government has ordered that this year’s college graduates must work for one or two years before pursuing graduate studies, an official report said Saturday.
The new rules appeared to be another attempt to prevent a recurrence of this spring’s popular, pro-democracy student movement that was crushed by troops in June.
About 3,500 students planned to start master’s and doctoral degree programs this fall, the official China Daily newspaper said. But a State Education Commission circular said students, especially those in the social sciences, must first gain work experience.
The new order does not affect students who already have work experience, the paper said.
The government already has cut the number of incoming college freshmen nationwide by 30,000 to 610,000 students in an apparent effort to curb student unrest.
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