Newly released data shows nearly 1.65 million students have registered to take China’s national entrance exam for postgraduate studies this year, 65,000 less than in 2014. This is the second consecutive year numbers have declined and marks the end of a two decade long frenzy to take the exams.

Since 1981, when China established its academic degree system, it is estimated that 4.26 million students have undertaken postgraduate studies in China, according to the 2015 Postgraduate Recruitment Report released by eol.cn, China’s largest online education portal. Registrations for the national entrance exam for postgraduate studies surged in the two decades leading up to 2012, but numbers have been falling since.

The reverse trend has led to a decline in university recruitment at postgraduate level and China is falling short on its recruitment targets. Experts believe relaxed recruitment and awarding criteria have damaged the credibility of China’s master’s degrees, which has contributed to the decline.

Data for this year’s entrance exam show that business administration, accounting and law degrees are the most popular choices. Candidates from Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, and the provinces of Jiangsu and Hubei, collectively account for nearly half of nationwide entrants.

Analysis:

Besides concerns over the quality of postgraduate education in China, other factors that may be contributing to the decline in exam registrations include a difficult employment market for graduates and a demographic decline in the student-age population.

China is the UK’s top sending country for international postgraduate students and the UK is the second most popular study destination for Chinese students. But a decline in China’s postgraduate recruitment poses a risk, especially as the UK is losing competitiveness in China due to a lack of post-study work opportunities.

Source: http://www.eol.cn/html/ky/report2015/index.shtml

Please direct any queries about the China market to liu.jing@britishcouncil.org.cn