Chinese universities are not equipping their graduates with the skills they need to?secure a?job amid soaring rates of?youth unemployment, researchers say.

Even as China¡¯s overall employment prospects have , the country¡¯s young people continue to?face record-high joblessness rates, with nearly 20?per cent of?16- to?24-year-olds not working, according to? published in?March.

In a for the China-focused publication Sixth Tone, Li?Xiaoguang, an assistant professor of sociology at Xi¡¯an Jiaotong University and author of a forthcoming study on youth unemployment, suggested that universities might be to blame.

He and his co-authors found that, of the graduates they surveyed, 34?per cent suffered from a ¡°horizontal mismatch¡± between their degrees and the job market, meaning that they held jobs unrelated to their area of study. Meanwhile, 24?per cent of graduates suffered from a ¡°vertical mismatch¡± ¨C that is, they were overqualified.

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Scholars speaking to Times ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø said that while the effects of a hobbled economy could not be ignored, poor teaching at universities was partly responsible for graduates¡¯ struggles.

Yingyi Ma, a professor of sociology and director of Asian studies at Syracuse University, said the problem had been compounded by the ¡°unprecedented¡± expansion of China¡¯s higher education sector in recent decades, which has created a large pool of candidates with university degrees.

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¡°The millions of college graduates churned out each year by the ever bigger Chinese higher education system [have] worsened the situation,¡± she said.

But while oversupply contributes to the graduate employment problem, Professor Ma said, a big factor is the quality of university teaching.

¡°I think that has much to do with the low quality of [higher education] instruction in China, barring some elite institutions. Faculty are rewarded and incentivised to?publish, not to teach,¡± she said, adding that the growth of the sector is ¡°too excessive to ensure quality¡±.

Nevertheless, she did not believe that the prospect of unemployment would deter many young people from pursuing a?university degree, with China¡¯s rising middle-class population ¡°still very keen for their children to receive the best [education] possible¡±.

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To address the situation, Professor Ma said, universities could do more to prepare graduates to enter the workforce, but more important was that they prioritise teaching.

¡°I think the key is still the quality of college education and instruction, not necessarily the specific goal of preparation [of] grads for the job market,¡± she said.

Chia-Ming Hsueh, vice-dean of Taiwan¡¯s Minghsin University of Science and Technology, agreed. ¡°China¡¯s higher education system has long had many problems, such as teaching content that does not meet practical needs and inadequate guidance on career planning for students.¡±

He argued that the mismatch between graduates¡¯ degree courses and their employment outcomes was ¡°not news¡± in China, just as it was common in many developed countries. However, he believed universities could do more, such as ¡°incorporating more practical, hands-on training and focusing on skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving and teamwork¡±, in addition to offering ¡°more comprehensive career services to help students identify their strengths and interests, explore career options and connect with potential employers¡±.

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pola.lem@timeshighereducation.com