Wen Wang Zhong's
Author Wang Zhong, special commentator of Lizhi News, **Commentator;This article is an exclusive request from the LIZHI News client and LIZHI.com, **Please indicate the source. ）
Recently, it has been reported that many colleges and universities have made it clear in the 2024 master's enrollment brochure that they will not provide accommodation for some graduate students. For example, Peking University and Nanjing University do not provide on-campus accommodation for professional degree master's students, and Xiamen University does not provide accommodation for part-time master's students and full-time master's students who are admitted to full-time targeted employment. Hunan University has made it clear that the accommodation of full-time master's students implements a voluntary application system, and the school provides the best for new students to choose within a certain range according to the existing dormitory resources.
The official announcement of universities not to provide on-campus dormitories for some graduate students has been interpreted by some people as a trend, and some people are worried that the cost of graduate school has risen significantly, but at the same time, many people think that most of these universities that do not provide on-campus accommodation are well-known universities and are not worried about the source of students.
Some universities are unable to provide dormitories for some graduate students, which is directly related to the expansion of graduate student enrollment in recent years. According to data from the Ministry of Education, the number of graduate students enrolled in 2020 was 110660,000 people, an increase of 2074%, and the national graduate enrollment ratio in 2021 and 2022 increased respectively from the previous year. 61%。Such a huge scale of enrollment expansion certainly increases the pressure on all aspects of college teaching, logistics, etc., and is also directly manifested in the fact that some famous universities that undertake the task of expanding enrollment are "difficult for a smart woman to cook without rice", and cannot let all students live in on-campus dormitories.
In fact, this is not the first time that similar situations have occurred. Historically, once colleges and universities have significantly expanded their enrollment, they have often faced a shortage of on-campus accommodation resources. Around 2000, during the period of large-scale expansion of undergraduate enrollment, some colleges and universities were unable to meet the accommodation needs of the expanding students, and "day students" with lower scores appeared. With the gradual development of university infrastructure, the concept of "day students" quickly faded from history, and undergraduate students are now usually able to live in on-campus dormitories.
Some education observers cite the case of some foreign universities and believe that it will become a trend for Chinese universities not to provide on-campus accommodation for students. However, the actual situation of China's higher education should not be copied from foreign models. First of all, to meet the accommodation requirements of the vast majority of students, domestic colleges and universities have a sufficient foundation. In recent years, the dormitory resources of many colleges and universities have been continuously improved, and some colleges and universities have reached the accommodation standard of 4 undergraduates, 2 master's students, and 1 doctoral student. Some colleges and universities also have spacious new campuses with the potential to further improve accommodation.
Second, the expansion of graduate enrollment in recent years has been phased, and such a rapid expansion is unlikely to last for a long time. Especially during the epidemic, the enrollment expansion policy also has the consideration of alleviating the employment pressure. Moreover, in order to ensure the quality of graduate student enrollment, colleges and universities will gradually control enrollment, and the enrollment scale will not only increase but also fall.
In China, higher education is a public welfare, and it is the general expectation of society to not let every student drop out of school due to economic reasons. Postgraduate education not only satisfies the needs of individuals to improve their academic qualifications, but also shoulders the task of cultivating scientific research talents for the country, and is an important part of building a strong country in education, science and technology, and talents. Most of China's first-class colleges and universities are located in first-tier cities and developed areas, and the rent around the campus is not low, if the problem of student accommodation is completely pushed to the society, it will undoubtedly bring excessive economic pressure to their studies, and even affect their life planning, which is not conducive to the selection and cultivation of talents.
Of course, in the context of short-term enrollment expansion, colleges and universities are unlikely to "conjure" affluent on-campus dormitories. In this regard, it is necessary to do a good job of cohesion and explanation. This time, many colleges and universities have clearly stated the dormitory allocation in the admissions brochure, so that they can carefully consider it when choosing to apply for the university, which is more transparent than students being admitted only to find out that there is no dormitory. In addition, some colleges and universities have also proposed to actively coordinate the expansion of off-campus accommodation resources, hoping that these actions will be implemented, so that students will not be "troubled" about the accommodation problem.
Colleges and universities should also be fair and scientific in their allocation of which students can access on-campus housing. For example, some universities have proposed not to provide dormitories for graduate students who are targeted for employment or part-time, because it is certainly reasonable to consider that they generally have a job and income. However, not providing dormitories for professional degree and master's students is suspected of being "one-size-fits-all". The professional master's degree focuses on cultivating application-oriented senior talents, meeting the society's demand for specialized talents, and should not be treated differently on accommodation issues. Especially for those with financial difficulties, colleges and universities should open application channels and fully consider the actual needs of each student.