Five college graduates have been working as toilet cleaners for a salary of 2,500 yuan ($387) a month in Jinan, Shandong province, for two years. With job-hopping being a common phenomenon among graduates today, people wonder why they have stuck to the job for two years, says an article in the Oriental Morning Post. Excerpts:

That graduates have been forced to work as toilet cleaners shows how difficult it has become to a find a suitable job. Though a toilet cleaner's job doesn't need much knowledge or experience, the locla environment and hygiene bureau offers them to generate employment.

What is more important is that the five students have adjusted to the circumstances and stuck to a job that doesn't suit them at all.

According to the five graduates' employment contracts, they can be promoted to a management position after working as toilet cleaners for three years, which may appear attractive but is no guarantee of a better future.

Guanxi, or connections, are playing a bigger role in the job market nowadays, forcing ordinary people without family "connections" to work in lowly and low-paying positions even if they have a college diploma. This is not only unfair to and discriminatory against ordinary people, but also not conducive to building a harmonious society. Therefore, the government should create an impartial environment for young people to compete freely and build their career.

The opinions expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily 06/24/2011 page9)