Give education its due in job market

Migrant workers engaged mainly in manual jobs earned 3,072 yuan ($460) a month on average in 2015, about 3.5 times their income 10 years ago, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. During the same period, the average monthly salary of college graduates increased from 1,588 yuan to 3,726 yuan.

The shrinking income gap between migrant workers and college graduates has sparked a fierce debate online. While one group has expressed concern over the development, the second group accuses the first of being cynical, saying migrant workers should be treated equally in the labor market and earn about the same when doing the same job.

The second group's logic seems skewed. To send a child to college, a family has to spend from 5,000 yuan ($750) to 12,000 yuan a year on tuition, plus pay considerable amounts for other necessities such as textbooks, and dormitory and traveling expenses. More importantly, a student spends perhaps the best three to five years of his/her life in college to earn a degree. Since all these are investments, it is normal for college graduates to expect higher salaries.