Rioting in China Over Label on College Diplomas

This year, China will produce less than half as many jobs as it will college graduates. No wonder, then, students and families are willing to pay steeper tuition at colleges associated with prestigious national universities. Promised that their diplomas would bear the name of Zhengzhou University, the top school in the province, graduates from Shengda College exploded into riots after receiving diplomas that read “Zhengzhou University Shengda Economic, Trade and Management College.” Intense competition for jobs has led to a large population of young people who are highly educated but unemployed, a demographic that unnerves the Chinese government. While Beijing has announced new policies aimed at enhancing the value of degrees earned at technical and high schools, China’s college campuses remain centers for social tension that could unleash more rioting or broader protest campaigns. – YaleGlobal