No profession is noble or low

A 25-year-old graduate from Tsinghua University, one of China's top institutions of higher learning, applied for chengguan's (urban patrol officer) job in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. He was appointed after getting high scores in the test and performing well in the interview. His appointment, however, has sparked a heated public debate on whether a graduate from prestigious institutions like Tsinghua University should be part of chengguan, a highly controversial law enforcement force. But a civilized and diversified society should give its citizens the freedom of choice. A college student who applies for grassroots jobs such as chengguan, traffic wardens or cleaners is nothing to fuss about, says an article in the Beijing News. Excerpts:

It's people who have labeled certain professions noble and others low and demeaning. But the fact is that it is not a humiliation for a college graduate to be chengguan.

People have a stereotypical image of chengguan because of the bad reputation urban patrol officers have. But we should view all professions with an open mind. Chengguan are no better or worse than people working in other professions.

Besides, with educated and young people ready to become chengguan, the profession could undergo necessary reforms, and the stigma to it could be erased.

As the US education reformer John Dewey once said: "Education ... is a process of living and not a preparation for future living." People need to do some soul-searching to understand the real meaning of education, instead of holding on to their misplaced beliefs and criticizing the choice of others.