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Third Degree Graduate

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In Chinese society, the great cultural importance put on education cannot be overstated. It is what most children have their lives based around; witness the many teenagers coming home on the metro late in the evening after cramming and other extra clubs.

As a result of the social pressure to gain a tertiary education, the number of graduate students aged 25-34 in China is expected to triple by 2030, a trend that has given rise to “Gaokao (College entrance Exam) Factories”; military-like schools training their student body to achieve top marks in the Gaokao.

Not only is the quantity increasing, but the quality of these students is also on the up; 2013 figures showed 40 percent of students majored in STEM topics (science, technology, engineering and mathematics); new and innovative careers with many opportunities as a result. So it is no surprise that when the Gaokao begins in early June, students rush and fight to get their name on that coveted list declaring them eligible to attend one of the many quality public universities; some may even go abroad to a famous foreign school. Last year alone, there were 9.42 million students taking the university entrance exam. To better one’s education is natural; there are no age restrictions on the Gaokao, so even adults seeking higher education in a good college may take the exam, as long as they have legitimate student status.

In China, the attitude towards public colleges is almost the opposite from that in the west, where public or community colleges are considered of below-average quality; in China they are regarded as excellent higher education. As public colleges are backed by the government, a college must be of a very high quality or have a certain prestige for the government to decide to support its growth. These institutions are what most students who pass the Gaokao look forward to as their future. This same attitude puts China in competition with the US in producing high-quality technicians and scientists; the rise of the better-paid, innovation-led workers may even lead to China phasing out their economic need for sweatshops and industrial factories.

Once the students have passed the exams, they are more or less categorised by their scores, which in turn dictates which university they shall be able to attend. The 一本 (yi ben) students, or first-degree students, are the ones who performed exceedingly well in their exams, allowing them to have many options. An yiben student’s intellect might even lead them abroad to prestigious universities such as Harvard or Yale. The students who also did well, but not to the same level as the yiben, are the 二本 (er ben), or second-degree students, who shall be eligible to enter well off public universities, such as Nanjing’s own Nanjing University, among many others.

They pack their bags, prepare their books and think about what their shining future holds. If they failed the Gaokao, they can re-take the exam the next year after repeating the senior year of high school; though it is painful, they may still be able to achieve their dreams and goals. But what if they did not pass the entrance exam the second time, or simply do not want to take the exam again? What if they don’t have the grades or the sufficient funds to travel abroad? 

For these 三本 (san ben) students, a new option is becoming more and more popular; attending a private college. These institutions will take on any student with sufficient financial backing, and educate them until they receive their diplomas. These private colleges have been on the rise in recent years. However, while these degrees are useful, they have their limitations too.

As private colleges are often funded entirely by student’s tuition fees and have no government financial backing, they do not offer as high a quality of education as public universities. With some of the “san ben” universities charging twice the tuition of a public university, to only offer a less credible degree, it is not surprising that there is also explosive growth being seen in attendance at vocational colleges.

As elsewhere, students at such institutions are taught the practical skills of blue collar and white collar jobs, rather than theory. While this can be advantageous; students can gain sufficient skills and practice to find a job from the moment they graduate from the institution, as well as the necessary skills to be successful at that job, the lack of theoretical knowledge occasionally prevents them from moving up their respective job ladders. Furthermore, they would be unsuited to many jobs above blue collar level, and would struggle in management office environments.

For these reasons, and the necessary pride associated with having a degree, the “san ben” universities remain less of a choice and more a lack of options. The third degree graduates may not realise it, but they are a valuable asset to the economy. The rise of China’s private colleges stimulates the country’s value and economic growth by providing tertiary education for the masses.

It must be noted that a private college degree is far, far better than no degree at all. Whereas a student could live comfortably on the jobs that can be attained from a private university degree, those lacking any credentials after high school will find it exceedingly difficult to find any job offering more than the minimum wage. Moreover, third grade graduates can also apply to do a masters in the first or second grade universities to finish their education and improve their lives. In addition, on a practical level, private schools are essential because there is sometimes simply not enough space for all of the first grade students; they must instead attend a private university because of insufficient accomodation in their public counterparts.

These “sanben” students may feel inferior, but they are helping China and themselves to grow, with the effects of their passion showing through on a global scale.

Read more stories published in The Nanjinger by downloading any issue as a PDF, for free!

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