A recent survey shows that the average salary of more than 350,000 college graduates across the country this year is only 2,443 yuan ($397). The survey on post-1990 generation graduates, conducted by Peking University Market and Media Research Center and information portal website Ganji.com, also shows that more than 30 percent of the graduates have to live off their parents and about 40 percent spend all the money they earn.

Amid all this, many universities have raised their tuition fees this year, up to 50 percent in some cases, prompting some observers to say that the twin developments could undermine the attraction of college education.

Some media reports have highlighted how parents stopped their children from enrolling in colleges, mainly because some graduates' incomes are even lower than that of migrant workers. Many parents used to regard college education as a way of enhancing their children's social status, and perhaps theirs too.