Recruitment is underway at art colleges nationwide with the annual rush of students hoping to become stars. The major may be is eye-catching, but the payment for often minimal reward is "heartbreaking".
Ordinarily, a student will disburse 5,000 yuan for a year of ordinary college tuition, but this can climb to over 10,000 yuan annually for an arts college. Some departments of the Central Academy of Fine Arts can even charge up to 15,000 yuan a year.
Tuition fees at arts colleges are becoming an impossible obstacle for applicants from low-income families.
According to an associate professor from the Beijing Normal University, a graduate requires a salary of at least 50,000 yuan annually after graduation to cover his debts. However, as arts graduates increase in number, employment opportunities are becoming scarce.
Finally, tuition is merely part of the price to pay for their training. Statistics show that for a young child master a musical instrument will cost at least 100,000 yuan with equipment and tutorship factored in.
(Chinanews.cn March 5, 2007)
