Xiaonuo, who was born in the countryside, was successfully admitted to Peking University as a graduate student, but faced the dilemma of not having a dormitory. As a student from a poor family, she had to endure the pressure of high rents. In order not to burden her parents, she was busy with part-time jobs almost all year round. However, the balance between part-time work and study has always been a problem for her. Arnold was frustrated and puzzled by the fact that the university no longer provided graduate student housing. And the situation like Xiaonuo exists in many universities, including some 985 or 211 universities such as Nankai University, Tsinghua University, and Peking University. These colleges and universities clearly stated in the enrollment brochure that there are no dormitories for part-time master's students or orientation students. Even if some colleges and universities provide dormitories, they also face the problem of insufficient dormitories, and students need to compete for places by competing for places. In this case, almost half of the students need to solve the accommodation problem on their own. It can be said that graduate school has entered the "era of no dormitory".
This problem mainly stems from the contradictions brought about by the expansion of university enrollment. According to statistics, in 1999, the number of graduate students admitted in the country was 730,000 people, and by 2017 it had reached 8050,000 people, and the total number of graduate students is about 26390,000 people. According to data analysis from the China Statistical Yearbook**, the enrollment expansion rate will stabilize at more than 10% in 2023 and continue to grow in the coming years. At the same time, the phenomenon of postponement of doctoral students is also a factor that cannot be ignored. According to the data of the Ministry of Education, the postponement rate of doctoral students in 2003 was 465%, which has risen to 64% in 2018. The expansion of enrollment and the postponement of doctoral studies have led to a rapid increase in the number of graduate students, while the relatively slow increase in dormitory resources has caused the current housing problem.
Some colleges and universities insist on not providing dormitories for graduate students, mainly for two reasons: on the one hand, they want to leave enough personal privacy space for adult students, because most graduate students have already entered the society and embarked on the road of love and marriage;On the other hand, because the construction of dormitories cannot keep up with the pace of expansion, colleges and universities have difficulties in financial allocation, and the construction of student dormitories mainly relies on self-financing or public donations. This arrangement may be suitable for some graduate students who are willing to choose to go out on loan, but for students from poor families like Xiaonuo, it is a heavy financial burden. In public universities, the annual accommodation fee is only 1,200 yuan, while in the off-campus rent, the monthly rent may be higher than the annual accommodation fee. Therefore, this shortage of dormitories is more obvious in poor students.
At the same time, the dormitory provided by the university also has a certain positive impact on the life and study of graduate students. The dormitory provides a good learning environment for communication and cooperation among graduate students. Dormitory life also promotes emotional communication and social development among students, which is conducive to developing their social skills and teamwork spirit. In addition, the provision of dormitories also reduces the financial burden on graduate students, allowing them to focus more on their studies.
Therefore, we can see that while the practice of not providing dormitories brings some personal space and flexibility, there are also some drawbacks, especially for poor graduate students. In the context of the expansion of university enrollment, universities should review the allocation of dormitory resources, and ensure that the accommodation problem of graduate students can be properly solved by increasing investment in dormitory construction and providing rent subsidies.
3. Suggestions for solving the problem of graduate student accommodation.
1.Increase investment in dormitory resources: Colleges and universities should increase investment in the construction of dormitory resources and increase dormitory capacity to meet the growing demand for graduate students. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure the quality and safety of the dormitory and provide a good living environment.
2.Provide rent subsidies: For schools that are unable to provide dormitories, consider providing students with a certain rent subsidy to reduce their financial burden. Although such subsidies will not solve all the problems, they can play a certain alleviating role.
3.Strengthen social cooperation: Universities can actively cooperate with enterprises and all sectors of society to jointly solve the problem of graduate student accommodation. Through cooperation, we can use social resources to provide dormitory resources or provide rent subsidies to provide better accommodation conditions for graduate students.
4.Establish a reasonable accommodation policy: Colleges and universities should formulate a reasonable accommodation policy according to the specific situation and needs of graduate students. Different types of graduate students can solve the accommodation problem in different ways, for example, part-time students can give rent subsidies or recommend suitable accommodation resources.
In short, in the context of the expansion of university enrollment and the surge in the number of graduate students, solving the problem of graduate student accommodation is a complex and urgent task. The university needs to provide good accommodation conditions for graduate students by increasing the investment of dormitory resources, providing rent subsidies, and strengthening social cooperation, so as to reduce their financial pressure and promote their learning and development. At the same time, the university also needs to examine the importance of graduate accommodation under the enrollment expansion policy, strengthen planning and management, ensure the reasonable allocation of dormitory resources, and fully communicate with students to jointly find solutions to promote the all-round development of graduate students.