China Has Too Many College Grads
The Chinese government is encouraging college-educated adults to take low-paying jobs in rural areas. This is not the first time China has promoted rural migration of college graduates due to lack of jobs in the cities.
As part of the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976 the late chairman Mao Zedong had a popular campaign slogan which stated: "All intellectuals who can go to work in the countryside should happily do so."
It seems that history is repeating itself.
With the unemployment rate in China expected to rise as high as 11 percent this year, and many dissatisfied college graduates, the government is picking up on Mao's old campaign slogan. Only this time the grass roots effort to "spread the intellect" may be backfiring.
According to the Washington Post, Carnegie Endowment's Mr. Pei says; "The most likely form of protest that combines unemployed students and migrant laborers would be a series of street demonstrations and riots in the cities. If they are not suppressed quickly, they can spread from one city to another. That's the worst nightmare for the government."
Students all over the world are being told that the key to an enriching life is getting a college education. For most college graduates, moving to the country and working on a farm is not what they had in mind.
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