Yesterday, Xiao E noticed that there was a topic about graduate students' labor fees on Weibo, which triggered a heated discussion among graduate students.
Some people complained that they made cattle and horses for their mentors, and they took 2,000 yuan for a whole year after working hard 007:
Some people also said that labor fees only exist in mythological stories, and the boss invited them to a few meals after working for a few years:
The above is nothing, and the worse thing is that he posted money to the boss to withdraw money:
Of course, sadness is set off, some people are miserable and some people are happy, and labor fees are paid regularly and on time, and they are never deducted:
So, should the supervisor give him the graduate labor fee in his name? How much is reasonable?
To understand this question, we first need to understand the origin of the mentorship system. The foreign tutor system first originated in the 15th century at the University of Oxford, England, and was called mentorship at the beginning, and after more than 600 years of development and improvement, today's one-to-many tutor system was formed.
China introduced this foreign tutor system as early as the first period, and the system was abolished for a time after the founding of New China, and it was not reactivated until it was reopened. After more than 40 years of development, it has gradually formed today's tutor system in which university professors guide the research of master's and doctoral students, so as to obtain the corresponding degree.
The tutor system abroad (whether it is the student system of the Commonwealth or the contract system of non-Commonwealth countries) is essentially biased towards the employment system, that is, students who study for a doctorate are nominally awarded a scholarship, and the ** of this scholarship can be a tutor project, supported by the school, or self-funded.
Some countries on the European continent, such as Germany, France, and the Nordic countries, have a substantive employment system, that is, the school signs an employee contract with you (although this money may also be paid by the tutor), and getting a degree is only incidental.
The biggest feature of this system is that the interest relationship between the student and the tutor is clear from the beginning, whether the tutor gives you money or not, how much to give is determined, and there is no room for disputes.
Even if you do a very average job, you will not get a penny less than the money you deserve, and the tutor will need a third party to intervene for a long time to determine if you want to stop your scholarship, and it may even involve serious labor problems. Even if the mentor asks you to do something else, you can refuse it on the grounds that the contract does not require it.
So this leads to an interesting phenomenon, in China, students are generally asked who their tutor is, and they directly ask "who is your tutor"; But in foreign countries, it is generally asked"who do you work with？", displayThere is no strict subordination between the two.
China's tutor system is more inclined to the combination of China's ancient apprenticeship system and foreign tutor system, which belongs to the tutor system with Chinese characteristics. The basic scholarship for full-time graduate admission is contracted by the state and the school, and the number of students recruited by the school each year is determined according to the national index, and multiple enrollment is not allowed in principle.
But at the document level, the supervisor is the first person in charge of your graduate studies, and many things cannot be done without his permission at all (whether it is a thesis, a mid-term or a graduation, he needs to sign it). Under this system, the tutor and the student have no interest at the level of official documents (because your scholarship is given by the state), but the tutor has the final say on whether the student can graduate or not, so this leads to the fact that the tutor may (usually) ask the student to do something unrelated to the student's graduation topic, but whether he gives you money or not depends on his thoughts (there is no interest relationship).
Although there may be some oversight and correction mechanisms at the school level, as long as the tutor's conduct does not involve issues of academic integrity or discipline, it is better to have it than nothing. The starting point of this system is to be conducive to social fairness and justice, and it is hoped that the relationship between tutors and students is purely academic inheritance, and the state is responsible for the scholarship to quickly cultivate a large number of talents and give more room for upward mobility.
However, China's development is too fast, and basic scholarships have been difficult to meet the living needs of students, and the demand for high-tech scientific research of enterprises is also increasing, giving tutors more opportunities for horizontal project cooperation.
Based on the above background, there is no institutional support for students to do horizontal and chores to tutors and need tutors to provide reasonable remuneration, becauseThe two are not an employment relationship, which explains why graduate students laugh at themselves as "cheap labor".
But did the students try to rebel against the system? In fact, there are also, the recent Huazhong Agricultural University incident is actually a microcosm, in addition to such as tutor evaluation network, tutor recommenders, etc., are the silent resistance of students. Since I can't help it, then bring out the tutor's "evil deeds" so that he can't recruit students.
But are these revolts effective? Xiao E has reservations in the short term. Judging from the current high number of graduate applicantsThe status quo of "you don't read, some people read" is difficult to reverse in a short period of time, and the demand for graduate and doctoral studies is still a seller's market in the short term.
So how much labor fee does the supervisor give to the master's and doctoral students under his name to be reasonable? Xiao E believes that it is difficult to determine the specific value, but if the supervisor really wants the graduate student to do things that are not related to his graduation project, such as running errands, reporting, fund management, horizontal projects, etc., then a certain amount of labor expenses is still indispensable.
Most people are in their twenties when they study for a Ph.D., and if they still ask their families for living expenses at this age, they may not feel comfortable psychologically. The labor fee given by the tutor should be based on being able to meet the basic living needs of the campus where the tutor is located, and there should be some surplus occasionally. Considering the low cost of living on campus and the availability of basic scholarships for graduate students, this criterion is not difficult to meet.
For students, it is recommended to consult the senior brothers and sisters before entering the school to understand the subsidy situation of the research group. If you do need this allowance to make ends meet, then it is advisable to find a more generous mentor. Of course, if you don't care about this little money, it's a different story.
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