Shanghai university graduates going to work in neighboring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces will not need to change their permanent residence, the Shanghai Education Commission revealed yesterday.

The announcement came after the commission signed a pact with its counterparts in the two provinces to establish cooperation on employment of university graduates in the Yangtze River Delta.

For long, Shanghai has been a magnet for university graduates looking for work. Some 2,000 Zhejiang students come to the city for jobs each year, while most local students would rather accept low-paid posts than work outside Shanghai.

Previously, local graduates who worked elsewhere had to transfer their permanent residence to the new city, and some worried they may have difficulty in transferring back their residence to Shanghai later. This meant many gave up job opportunities in other cities.

"The policy is meant to break the barriers in the education system and ensure free flow of university graduates in the three regions," said Zhang Weijiang, the commission director.

Under the pact, graduates who are willing to work in neighboring provinces can enjoy the same welfare policies as their local counterparts, officials said.

According to the pact, an employment registration system will be established among universities in the three provinces. Students who fail to find jobs will be given internship opportunities in any place in the delta.

The three education authorities are also working to cooperate on other issues, such as sharing and employing teachers, and inter-university credit acknowledgement.

(eastday.com October 14, 2003)