Nanjing Special Education College announced the recruitment of janitorial staff with a monthly salary of 4000 yuan (RMB), requiring applicants to have a fresh master’s degree and be no more than 35 years old. After this sparked discussion, the school recently responded, stating that the recruitment announcement has been invalidated.
The “Nanjing Special Education College 2025 Labor Dispatch Staff Recruitment Announcement” indicates that the hiring department is the museum, with the position title of museum janitorial staff and the nature of employment being labor dispatch. The job responsibilities mainly include daily duty, environmental cleaning, exhibition area care, security protection, venue maintenance, general reception, and other routine tasks. The salary is around 4000 yuan.
The recruitment requirements specify that applicants must have a master’s degree, be a master’s graduate, be a recent graduate, not exceed 35 years of age, and have experience working at a school or practical experience.
This immediately sparked discussions on the internet.
Netizens expressed their opinions: “A master’s degree working as a janitor? Monthly salary of 4000 yuan with an age limit of 35, is the university trying to use master’s graduates to clean floors while conducting research on the side? Might as well hand them the broom with their degree certificate!” “Can a master’s degree holder perform these tasks well? They should hire someone suitable for the job.”
“Education leads to poverty, back to poverty. Many families are being drained, and in the future, even postgraduates will struggle. It’s sad!” “It’s normal, this is determined by market demand, even such job opportunities are hard to come by.” “To put it bluntly, this is competitive.”
Chinese columnist and media figure Mr. Lu Guoping commented in a blog post: “Although the announcement by Nanjing Special Education College to recruit fresh master’s graduates as janitorial staff with a monthly salary of 4000 yuan was eventually invalidated, the topic it touched upon continues to resonate. Is a master’s degree too ‘overqualified’ for the position of janitorial staff? Does this signify a devaluation of education? What do you think?”
On March 3rd, a spokesperson for Nanjing Special Education College responded, stating that the recruitment mentioned above has been invalidated, and the official website has removed the public notice. “We have noticed discussions online, so the human resources department has communicated with the museum, and this matter has been properly handled.”