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It's misleading to liken wages of toilers, students
By Guangzhou Daily |
July 31, 2012, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
IN June, a survey by a Tsinghua-affiliated consultancy found that most college graduates receive a starting salary of less than 2,000 yuan, even lower than many migrants are paid.
The findings are no longer newsy, nor are they scientific. For one thing, the income of a new graduate is not comparable to that of a seasoned migrant. For another, it's misleading to conclude that students are less capable than migrants based on the findings.
Though they start from a low base, college graduates have more career possibilities and potential. And they enjoy better social security benefits. By contrast, migrants are frequently owed back pay and have no access to social security.
But, on the other hand, who says migrants cannot earn more than college graduates?
After all, many college students while away their time in playing video games or dating. Migrants, however, work hard and deserve higher pay.
In developed countries such as the United States and Australia, blue-collar workers sometimes out-earn white-collars, let alone college graduates.
Which means, even if students do earn less than migrants, the hidden presumption that this is wrong smacks of discrimination. Instead, the wage gap should be taken as a sign of the increasingly sophisticated social division of labor.
Just because students temporarily earn less doesn't warrant a negation of college education. It is those schools that haven't done a good job in imparting useful knowledge need to prove their value. This is the crux of the problem.
The findings are no longer newsy, nor are they scientific. For one thing, the income of a new graduate is not comparable to that of a seasoned migrant. For another, it's misleading to conclude that students are less capable than migrants based on the findings.
Though they start from a low base, college graduates have more career possibilities and potential. And they enjoy better social security benefits. By contrast, migrants are frequently owed back pay and have no access to social security.
But, on the other hand, who says migrants cannot earn more than college graduates?
After all, many college students while away their time in playing video games or dating. Migrants, however, work hard and deserve higher pay.
In developed countries such as the United States and Australia, blue-collar workers sometimes out-earn white-collars, let alone college graduates.
Which means, even if students do earn less than migrants, the hidden presumption that this is wrong smacks of discrimination. Instead, the wage gap should be taken as a sign of the increasingly sophisticated social division of labor.
Just because students temporarily earn less doesn't warrant a negation of college education. It is those schools that haven't done a good job in imparting useful knowledge need to prove their value. This is the crux of the problem.
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