The Ministry of Education released a notice on November 21st of this year indicating that if the graduate employment rate of a particular discipline is lower than 60% for two consecutive years, fewer students will be admitted to the course, and if the employment rate continues falling, the course will be discontinued.
For subjects known to have a slightly higher employment rate, such as engineering, economics and graduate IT jobs, this notice is no cause for concern however the future looks bleak for the less employable courses such as philosophy and history of art - moreover, the arts subjects and social sciences.
The Ministry's decision to discontinue the less employable courses has been an idea discussed since as early as December 2004, however the original plan was to stop enrolling students for courses that had an employment rate of less than 30%, instead of 60%. The current economic climate has meant that more and more graduates have been left jobless however; therefore the Ministry has had to amend their proposal.
Despite the backlash against 'unemployable' arts and social sciences degrees, it is important to remember their importance. Often vocational degrees do not appeal to high school graduates, who are still undecided with what they want to do with their lives. More creative subjects give them more leeway to decide on their futures when they graduate - as opposed to studying degrees like medicine and law, which have more defined graduate paths. Arts and social science degrees can help expand the minds of undergraduates, and learning for learning's sake, as opposed to learning for the sake of a future potential income, is very important, despite the current economic climate. Therefore, less employable degrees shouldn't be simply cast aside and seen as a waste of time and money: arts and social science degrees are just as important as science, linguistic and other, more employable degree subjects.
Kate, GRB Journalist
