"In 2022, the number of graduate students in China has reached 3.65 million, ranking second in the world. However, the construction of dormitories in colleges and universities cannot keep up with the pace of expansion, and many universities no longer provide dormitories for some or all of the post-secondary students. The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Education said at a press conference a few days ago.
In recent years, the scale of graduate students in China has expanded rapidly, and the number of graduate students enrolled in the country will reach 124 in 2022250,000 people, and the number of applicants for the 2024 national master's admission examination will be 4.38 million, nearly doubled. However, the construction of dormitories in colleges and universities is seriously lagging behind, and many colleges and universities have fallen into the embarrassing situation of "being able to afford the exam but not being able to read".
First, the old campus is "overloaded", and the new campus is not enough.
As the base with the longest history of higher education development in China, many old campuses of colleges and universities can no longer afford more students. For example, the number of graduate students at Shanghai Normal University has grown rapidly, and the dormitory on the old campus of Xuhui has long been operating at "full capacity". After 2020, all full-time students at Beijing Normal University Beijing Campus will no longer be provided with dormitories.
At the same time, new university campuses that have been built since 2000 are also "full". After more than 10 years of construction, Fengxian University Town in Shanghai and Shahe Higher Education Park in Beijing are also facing the problem of shortage of dormitory resources. The student housing of the seven colleges and universities in Songjiang University Town is almost full.
Second, the pressure on students to rent a house is huge, and the financial burden increases.
According to incomplete statistics, 14 colleges and universities have announced this year that they will no longer provide dormitories for some or all of their master's students, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan and other first-tier universities. This has put a lot of pressure on many students to rent a house.
The monthly rent of a single room near our school basically starts at 3,000 yuan, and the rent fee is 6 times my annual tuition fee in a year. A master's student said that in order to reduce the burden on his family, he had to work part-time.
Some universities will give a subsidy to graduate students who do not provide on-campus accommodation. However, according to students, most subsidies are only a fraction of the rent, and have little effect on alleviating them.
3. The new policy encourages colleges and universities to expand the scale of dormitories.
In response to the problem of graduate student dormitories, relevant departments have recently issued guidance to encourage colleges and universities to increase dormitory resources through multiple channels. It is proposed that social housing such as nearby commercial and residential buildings can be purchased or leased to supplement student apartments.
This move has made many apartment companies see business opportunities. However, the certainty of colleges and universities to withdraw by buying houses is not high, and the capital is still relatively cautious. Industry insiders said that the policy needs to be further clarified.
Fourth, suggestions and suggestions.
In view of the current problem of graduate student accommodation, the author believes that the state should increase capital investment in the construction of university dormitories, increase the number of student apartments, and ensure that every graduate student can enjoy basic accommodation conditions. At the same time, more financial assistance will be given to students from poor backgrounds who are financially disadvantaged to reduce their financial burden. Ensuring that every child who "can afford to take the examination" can "afford to read" on an equal footing is an inevitable requirement for running an education that satisfies the people.
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