In recent years, with the rapid expansion of China's higher education system, especially the continuous growth of postgraduate education, some new challenges and problems have gradually emerged. One of the most significant is the shortage of accommodation resources faced by many universities. This situation reflects the structural contradictions and sequelae in the development of China's higher education.
Over the past decade, national graduate enrollment has more than doubled, from 560,000 in 2011 to 1.18 million in 2021. However, the infrastructure of universities, especially the construction of dormitories, has not kept pace with the growth. As a result, an increasing number of universities are making it clear in their prospectuses that they are unable to provide accommodation for all postgraduate students, especially for part-time and professional degree students.
This change is undoubtedly a major blow to many students who are admitted to graduate school. They have to face the reality of renting off-campus, which means a higher cost of living and longer distances to school. This pressure is particularly pronounced in first-tier cities, where the rental market around universities is tight and expensive.
It is worth noting that this phenomenon reflects the transformation of China's postgraduate education to a certain extent. In some countries, postgraduate education does not include accommodation in the first place. China's universities may be gradually shifting to this model, but this shift is not the best. It not only breaks the traditional conventions of domestic higher education, but also puts both economic and psychological pressure on students.
The deeper question is whether the massive expansion of graduate education is compatible with the country's economic situation and industrial structure. Graduate education was supposed to be an elite education, but now it seems to be gradually turning to the masses, and even becoming a way to relieve the pressure of employment. This shift can lead to a depreciation of academic qualifications and increase the pressure on students to find employment.
Faced with this situation, the education sector and universities need to adopt a more thoughtful and pragmatic approach. This includes rationally planning the size of graduate student enrollment, optimizing the discipline structure, raising the entry threshold for degree awarding, and strengthening infrastructure investment to ensure that students' basic living needs are met.
All in all, the crisis of graduate student dormitories is not only a housing problem, but also a manifestation of the deep-seated challenges facing the development of China's higher education. Universities and education authorities need to work together to address this issue while ensuring that the quality of postgraduate education matches its size.