► Li Keqiang was at the symposium. Source: China Government Website, Photography: Xinhua News Agency Ma Zhancheng
Editor's note:
Yesterday, good news came at a symposium hosted by Premier Li Keqiang: Postgraduate students are expected to have a "pay increase". According to the president of a university and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering who participated in the discussion, Shi Yigong, vice president of Tsinghua University and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, proposed to increase the treatment of graduate students, and Huang Wei and others intervened highly. Li Keqiang agreed on the spot. In the subsequent report from the Chinese government website, the Prime Minister "instructed relevant departments to speed up research and improve the basic subsidy standards for graduate students and mobilize the enthusiasm of young talents." It is a common phenomenon at present. On January 10, "Intellectuals" pushed an article titled "Respect for Talents Start with "Risks" for Graduate Students", which attracted widespread attention. But how much "salary" should graduate students get? There are many different opinions.
Written by | Lu Haoran, Deng Zhiying, Ye Shuishuang, Cheng Li
Editor | Li Xiaoming
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According to the Chinese Government Network on January 17, at a symposium hosted by Li Keqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, at a symposium hosted by Li Keqiang, relevant departments were instructed to speed up research and improve the basic subsidy standards for graduate students and mobilize the enthusiasm of young talents.
Premier Li Keqiang's symposium on that day mainly listened to opinions and suggestions from people from education, science and technology, culture, health, sports and representatives of grassroots masses on the "Government Work Report (Draft for Comments)".
It is understood that Shi Yigong proposed in his speech, "In 2008, Wang Xiaofan, Rao Yi and I joined hands with 57 other people to propose to Premier Wen to increase allowances for graduate students, which was approved. Nine years have passed in a flash. This time, considering factors such as prices, the graduate student subsidy should be increased again." Huang Wei and others intervened highly. Li Keqiang agreed on the spot and instructed relevant departments to speed up research and improve the standards for graduate student subsidies.
small survey: "Salary" status of graduate students
In the article "Respect for Talents Start with "Risks" for Graduate Students" pushed by Intellectuals on January 10, there is a questionnaire on "Salary" for graduate students. As of January 17, a total of 1,663 graduate students from all over the country had completed the questionnaire.
The students who participated in this survey were almost all provinces, cities and regions in my country, and were reflected in all grades, and the majors were covered relatively wide (see the picture above). The results of the graduate student questionnaire participated in the survey showed that 223 people were subsidized in the range of 0-500 yuan (inclusive), accounting for 13.42%; 359 people were subsidized in the range of 500-1,000 yuan (inclusive), accounting for 21.66%; 450 people were subsidized in the range of 1,000-2,000 yuan (inclusive), accounting for 27.14%; 452 people were subsidized in the range of 2,000-3,000 yuan (inclusive), accounting for 27.26%; 148 people were subsidized in the range of 3,000-4,000 yuan (inclusive), accounting for 8.97%; the number of students with monthly subsidies above the range of 4,000-5,000 yuan (inclusive).
At the same time, only 11.13% of students said that the subsidy amount can meet daily use, and 88.87% of students said that the subsidy cannot meet daily expenses.
It is worth noting that the survey results also show some details - although there are some special cases of
, overall, the average subsidy level in developed regions such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou is higher than that in other regions. The subsidies for the two participants studying in Hong Kong are all above RMB 7,000.
The subsidy gap between different colleges and institutions in the same region is also very obvious. Overall, the subsidies for scientific research institutions are higher than those for universities; the subsidies for key universities such as 985 and 211 are relatively high.
From a professional perspective, there are also differences in subsidies for liberal arts and sciences. Overall, the subsidies for liberal arts students are significantly lower than those for science students. In this survey, the maximum subsidy for liberal arts students was set to be 3,000-4,000 yuan (including) range (enterprise management major, both liberal arts and science).
"High subsidy majors" are mostly concentrated in biology, materials (condensed matter), medicine and other directions.
The subsidies for graduate students are generally low, and the international gap is obvious. "Intellectuals" then contacted some graduate students. Their feedback also reflects the differences in regions, institutions and even majors to some extent. The actual situation varies greatly and may be more complicated.
A university in Henan subsidizes 1,000 yuan for master's students per year, and students can apply for a national subsidy of 6,000 yuan per year. However, a student at the school said that he had to say that he was miserable and poor on the national subsidy website to apply. In addition, the tutor usually gives students 400 yuan a month. If the tutor has no topic, the student can't even get 400 yuan. The student is very supportive of improving graduate student treatment and is optimistic about its role in mobilizing youth enthusiasm. He said that now, the master's degree is basically self-paid, and the reform has made the students poorer and poorer. If the subsidies are not increased, they will not be able to continue studying.
A doctoral student at the Institute of Neurology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said, "My current fixed salary is 3,400 per month, plus a tuition subsidy of 3,000 per year. I think the salary for graduate school is higher than the average salary of graduates with the same education, and it is best to be linked to the salary of the tutor. Because I think the graduate work intensity is very strong, and the working hours and holidays are completely unsecured. The tutor increases his income through part-time jobs, but the resulting experimental and written work is almost done by students, and students will not benefit from it."
. In the comments in this survey, most students have concentrated opinions on low subsidies, but it also reflects the phenomenon of "dare to be angry but not speak out."
Some students said that the country’s “minimum insurance policy” of 500 yuan per month and 6,000 yuan per year may not be able to be paid. Although there are not many subsidies for two or three hundred yuan per month, they are not uncommon. Many comments were left with "crying poor": "It's all tears", "It means that there is not enough food", "It's not easy to survive", "It's 500 yuan per month, and survival depends entirely on faith." Some students also said, "The postponement of payment also occurs from time to time."
@@ left a message in the background: I graduated from graduate school and worked in the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and my salary was only more than 4,000. I had no choice but to give up my plan to study for a doctorate and switch to a coder.
In fact, the same is true. In the graduate school stage, especially in the PhD stage, most of them are already adults, and some have already started their families. For the unattainable dream of "establishing a career", the burden of "supporting a family" seems extremely heavy in the face of low subsidies.
Big Maoer left a message: I think people who do scientific research are ready to endure hardships. But if you are not afraid of suffering, it will be troublesome if you cannot survive. Besides, doctoral and postdoctoral fellows have to support their families, and their wages need to be increased.
There are also students who said that starting from the fall semester of 2014, according to the "Opinions of the Ministry of Finance, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Education on Improving the Investment Mechanism for Postgraduate Education (Caijiao [2013] No. 19)", the subsidy amount has indeed increased. But in 2014, graduate students also began to pay corresponding tuition fees. After calculation, the "one in and one out" situation has not increased, and the return of tuition fees is not 100%, and there is even a phenomenon of "income but not enough".
"Intellectuals" backstage urspecial message: Shandong University's doctoral degree in chemistry is only 2,500 yuan per month, and a tuition fee of 10,000 yuan per year is required.
, while international students in Hong Kong and overseas said that the "salary" of overseas graduate students is generally higher, usually above 10,000 yuan (equivalent to RMB). This may also be one of the reasons why many talents choose to study for postgraduate studies overseas.
According to Professor Chen Yuqing, a Chinese scientist from the University of Michigan School of Medicine, told Intellectuals: The annual salary of our doctoral students is US$29,025, and there are nuances in each major.
Amateur academic master left a message saying: The subsidy for graduate students in China is too low, and many people choose to study for a doctorate abroad. I am currently working at the Nanyang Technological University of Technology and the treatment of doctoral students is 2,500 SGD per month, equivalent to nearly 12,500 yuan, and I can save 1,500 SGD per month. You can save more than 300,000 yuan after graduation in four years.
Zhang Cheng left a message: Welcome to study in Nordic, doctoral students’ salary after tax of 18,000.
Tony left a message: Just ask why don’t you come to Singapore to study for a doctorate? Tuition fees are free of charge, with a minimum of 2,000 SGD (approximately 10,000 RMB) to 2,500 SGD scholarships per month. After graduation, the work law stipulates (key points) shall not be less than 4,000 SGD.If the boss does not have enough money, he may be required to sign a contract with the Ministry of Education and stay in Poland for 3 to 6 years after graduation. So don’t complain that the country cannot retain talents and people go to a higher level!
Legend comment: This is done better in foreign countries, especially in Europe. If the monthly income does not meet their requirements, you will not be able to enroll normally. The purpose is to ensure the normal life of students and to allow students to concentrate on academics. At least, in Canada, the boss wants to find money to pay for funding, the tutor will also ask students to apply for scholarships, and the school and college will also provide TA positions. Therefore, although it is hard to study for a doctorate abroad, the minimum life is institutionally guaranteed.
Tao Xiaoye: The monthly income from studying for a doctorate in North America is converted into tens of thousands of yuan, which is not considered scholarships and royalties. The gap is really not a little bit.
said: Should it rise?
"However, the real situation is that more than 80% of graduate students and even doctoral students study only to get a high degree of education and high salary in the future. Some time goes out to teach junior and senior high school tutors. It is wasting funds for front-line education resources. Is there any reason why the country pays money to support you every month? Those who can distinguish between scientific researchers and those who are stumbled to ask for a salary increase."
htmlOn January 10, a comment after the article "Respect for Talents Start with "Risks" for Graduate Students" triggered a heated discussion in the backstage message area.neo message: Do scientific research with dignity. Some people think that giving subsidies to graduate students is a waste of taxpayers' money, so is it good to waste foreign taxpayers' money? I can’t even bear to spend this money, so what to talk about to make the country with technology?
Song Tingting left a message: It means that the 10-year 100 yuan (an institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences), and I was speechless when I went out to take care of the tutor. The working hours were basically from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m., so how can I have time to take care of the tutor?
Qianwen comment: I always feel that it is a bit misleading about salary increases. In fact, isn’t the most important thing to do to reduce the number of graduate students in each laboratory? Really do less and more refined, one carrot and one pit! If the number of students with 20 to 30 graduate students can be reduced by half or even two-thirds, the issue of graduate student subsidies will not be a problem!
A teacher from Tsinghua University told Intellectuals, "From a standpoint, students are just using school resources to study. School fees are normal, let alone subsidies. In reality, students help tutors to do projects and do work that can actually create value, and there is nothing wrong with giving subsidies. Moreover, considering the needs of students' age, it is also necessary to make students' lives more comfortable. But it cannot be too much. In fact, if students feel that the subsidies are small, they can do some other extracurricular work. But if the tutor's work is too heavy, they should give more."
Some students said more bluntly that whether the "salary" can increase depends on the country's policies on the one hand, but on the other hand, it depends on the "face" of the tutor and boss. Some readers left a message in the background saying that some tutors may not have independent control over funds, but "good" tutors will give students more subsidies, and there are also cases where tutors are completely "stuck".
A teacher from Shanghai Dr. Zhu left a message: Master’s degree is in Chengdu, 650 per month. The doctor is in the Magic City, with a monthly salary of 1,200 yuan... Now he is a boss and wants to give more students. However, he has a local doctoral background and the results are several zeros lower than the start-up fund of overseas returnee Qingqian. After working hard to get some funds, the labor fee ratio is only so small... I can only treat everyone to some good food occasionally, care and encourage them in daily life, and try my best to let them learn more... It is also quite helpless.
Feihong left a message: Only by raising wages can we really calm down and do scientific research. Is it not because we don’t have much money and economic stability that makes us have the heart to benefit the country...
Cheristy left a message: Yes! Although salary increases may not necessarily promote the progress of national scientific research, at least to a certain extent, foreign graduate students will not affect scientific research because they are worried about the benefits, because they have sufficient scientific research subsidies and are devoted to scientific research. Don’t tell me that love is not good at eating but not wearing well, and still have enough time to do scientific research. Maybe there is really, that is definitely pitiful. After all, only with a material foundation can there be a better superstructure.
"But graduate students are equal to talents?"
Another comment also attracted a lot of comments.
neo comment: Those who say that graduate students are not talents know how many 973 and 863 projects are completed by graduate students?
77 comment: In fact, graduate students are front-line scientific researchers. A large amount of basic research work is completed by graduate students. Scientific research and innovation are not as high-end as outsiders imagine. Scientific research and innovation may be done by Daniu, the two more difficult things, 0-1 and 99-100, but things like 1-99 are really similar to moving bricks. Most of them are done by a large number of graduate students, relying on the workload accumulated by the number of people and time. During this period, graduate students also cultivate their scientific research capabilities and gradually become more professional talents.
La left a message: Establish a good assessment system, and graduate students are not all engaged in scientific research, but those who do scientific research seriously must be given good treatment, so that they can motivate and improve our overall innovation ability and scientific research results.
RMC message: The treatment of doctoral students should be improved rather than master's students. After all, many people in China study for graduate school only for academic qualifications. The doctoral stage is considered scientific research, and master's degree is just moving bricks.
Shu Shushu message: I am studying for a doctorate and my salary is a living. I think the current investment should not invest in goods, but investors. To be honest, China is not an elite in scientific research, so it makes sense that those who criticize graduate students are not talents. The reason is relative. According to the system, we graduate students do belong to the talent category in Chinese society. These are the social cornerstones cultivated by the government at a cheap price and lay the foundation for the future. ...The government's policy is a human-season tactic. With more people, the probability of researching results is high, the probability of producing talents is high, and it is also educational fairness. But the money I get is less. At present, material construction has been completed, and it is finally our turn to enjoy the fruits of economic construction. The treatment of graduate students will definitely improve, but we were born early. Our parents mentioned that we used to say that eating enough means happiness, but in the future we will tell our children that we would have a doctorate degree at that time.
Shi Yu, professor of the Department of Physics at Fudan University, believes that on the basis of improving the admission requirements and quality of graduate students, it is possible to consider improving the benefits. The reality is that many graduate students are incompetent. In a mixed course of graduate and fourth grade, they generally perform worse than undergraduates - many good students go abroad or do not study for graduate school. Therefore, it is more important to improve the quality of students and not pursue quantity. This will reduce the rigid requirements for graduate students to publish papers, thereby eliminating the human-sea tactic of increasing the number of papers in a unit through a large number of graduate students. How much should
rise? There are many different opinions on how much the postgraduate subsidy will increase.
A doctoral student at Shanghai University of Science and Technology told Intellectuals: "As a graduate student, of course I hope to improve the salary of graduate students. From the perspective of basic scientific research development, the salary of graduate students really needs to be improved urgently. Because most graduate students are between the ages of 22 and 28, facing economic pressure from family and society. Under the current circumstances, the treatment of both master's and doctoral students is not very good. This leads to 1. There are fewer and fewer outstanding graduate students willing to engage in basic scientific research, and the quality of students is getting worse and worse. 2. Many graduate students are forced to do part-time jobs in addition to studying to subsidize their lives."
Besbear message: Increase basic subsidies! The doctor is so old that the housing prices are getting faster and faster. The doctor is so anxious to study! While the state controls doctoral enrollment, it is not impossible to increase the salary to about 70% of the master's degree (salary)!
Li Guang left a message: The salary of doctoral students should be about 60% of the average salary of local working. In Beijing and Shanghai employees’ average income is about 100,000, so the annual income of doctoral students should be around 60,000.
Bio_James message: improving the basic level can mobilize enthusiasm, give the tutors the flexibility to pay wages, and prevent missed life.
Albatross comment: After the class is over, the master and doctoral degree begins to create labor value, and they are not a skilled researcher, and they are similar to interns in companies and enterprises. Therefore, you can refer to the salary of interns in the local company to provide subsidies to master and doctoral students.Whether there is a certain ratio is determined by the degree of attention society to scientific work. The treatment of scientific research institutions that catch up with or even exceed the basic social level may become a new way to attract talents to invest in scientific research, rather than relying solely on "interest". What kind of benefits the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Students and major universities provide for students may become their own indicators to attract talents in the future. Starting from students, providing reasonable and rich material support to scientific researchers is a blessing for today's scientific researchers and scientific development.
A doctoral student at Tsinghua University told Intellectuals that the biggest problem with graduate salary is not the amount, but transparency. As long as the school and department set and disclose minimum standards, students can consider them comprehensively before they are admitted to the postgraduate entrance examination or the postgraduate entrance examination and vote with their feet. Don’t always fool individual high-salary groups and competitive income. This is the same as the treatment of young teachers. But now most students don’t know how much salary they can get before entering school. In terms of amount, we should investigate the local living costs. I personally think that the net income of four or five thousand is almost the same.
Researcher Li Bin from the Shanghai Institute of Immunology also believes that the treatment of graduate students should be improved. He told Intellectuals, "If we want to keep the best doctoral students to be postdoctoral students in China, we should raise the treatment of outstanding postdoctoral students to a standard comparable to that of NIH. For excellent graduate students, the truth is the same."
A graduate student from the School of Life Sciences of the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences told Intellectuals that the salary of graduate students should at least ensure the basic life in school, but for some research institutes, the funding pressure on instructors and colleges is not something that every experimental group can bear.
Shi Yu said: Compared with hard-working workers, those graduate students who don’t do much work have a good income. And mentioned the situation of Fudan University——"I think it's OK, relative to their ability and contribution. Calculated by 10 months of salary for a year, doctoral students are 2,200-3,400 per month, and summer work tutors can also receive subsidies according to the situation (referring to the "net income" of direct doctoral students who graduate from undergraduate degree and doctoral students who graduate from master's degree after deducting tuition fees. The graduate student aid system of the Department of Physics of Fudan University consists of five parts: scholarships, living allowances, three-assistance job allowances, hardship allowances, and national student loans. For details, please refer to: http://phys.fudan.edu.cn/7528/list.htm.)"
For the question "The graduate students themselves still have to pay tuition fees, but the original intention is actually the 'internship salary' in the laboratory?" Shi Yu said, "I fully agree that there can be tuition reduction measures. In fact, our graduate students' income is the income after minus tuition fees, and there is also a reward for being a teaching assistant. For excellent graduate students, it can be solved through rewards. In fact, there are various incentive measures. On the other hand, some students go to big cities to study for graduate school as a springboard for working in big cities."
Shi Yu also mentioned that the treatment of graduate students is not a big deal at present, and the treatment of ordinary professors is a big deal. The gap between the rich and the poor among professors is too large, and some schools may even see that most professors earn less than the average income of professors in the school. This problem is much more urgent than the issue of graduate student treatment. "Hat" is too related to income. For example, Qingqian is often just a postdoctoral fellow abroad, and his income is much greater than that of many professors who support national scientific research education in China. In fact, many of the latter also came back from abroad, but it was a little earlier. Therefore, the latter's income must be greatly increased. It is an international joke that new entrants have a much higher income than senior ones. After a postdoctoral fellow can have a high income, professors will make jokes about interacting with postdoctoral fellows. If the treatment of graduate students is one-sidedly improved, there will be situations where they are students.
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Comments｜Zhang Shuangnan: Thoughts on the salary and training model of graduate students
I think the attraction to graduate students is not entirely determined by salary during graduate students. The most important factor is employment prospects.
Let me give you an example first. When I was working in an American university, I once participated in a professor committee. After we looked at the salary of professors from various departments and colleges, we found that the salary of professors from different departments and colleges varies greatly, so we asked the president to give an explanation.The principal's explanation is: We need to ensure that all professors are the best talents in this field, so that we can cultivate the best talents in all walks of life. Our university is a state university and its goal is to cultivate outstanding talents in regional areas. Therefore, our professors are required to be the best talents in various industries and fields in the region. Therefore, the salary we give professors is to be competitive in the industry in the region. If we find that the salary of professors in a certain department or college is not competitive in the region, we will adjust it in time.
Demand determines supply, which is the eternal rule. Therefore, I think that talking about graduate students’ salary in a general way does not make much sense, and it should distinguish between different fields and different training goals. For example, graduate education aimed at vocational training should be basically carried out in a market-oriented manner. Some majors and fields not only do not require high salaries, but can even charge fees or even charge very high fees. For some professions that the government encourages to develop, the government can support it by providing various scholarships. Some professions that industries or enterprises encourage development, and industries or enterprises can provide scholarships. If the training target is senior research talents, it should be closely integrated with scientific research projects, and the research projects will pay compensation, and the salary standards can be allowed to float according to competition conditions. If the goal of cultivating is to be purely academic talents, but there is no sufficient research funding in these fields, then the government, industry or foundation will need to attract graduate students through scholarships. If you want to develop the most outstanding research talents, you need to attract the best graduate students. In this case, setting up high standards and favorable scholarships is the best way, such as the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program of the American Natural Science Foundation (http://www.nsfgrfp.org/) is a very successful example.
Finally, I will apply my aesthetic theory: beauty is not common without flaws. Even if there are no defects, it is very common. The "ugly" of "flaws are very common" is a normal phenomenon, and the best result can only be the "vulgar" of "no defects are very common". Only when diversity is uncommon, “beauty” can it appear, and it is possible to have “beauty crying” that is “extremely uncommon”. Of course, it is impossible to avoid “ugly crying” that is “flawless and uncommon”. However, the vitality of diversity is to not only reduce “ugly” and “vulgar”, but also have the ability to eliminate “ugly crying”. Therefore, the funding and training of graduate students must be diversified. The current unified allocation of quotas, unified management and unified evaluation model of the Ministry of Education is the main obstacle to the poor training quality of Chinese graduate students although the number of graduate students is huge. Without breaking this institutional barrier, China's graduate education will not have fundamental progress and there will be no "beautiful" future.
Personally forwarded to the Moments.
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