Wanted: Chinese city seeks university graduates for public toilet jobs
District authority in Wuhan says the high educational qualifications needed for the positions show the importance they place on good public conveniences
A city in central China has defended a requirement that its public toilet managers have college degrees, local media reported.
A district urban management authority in Wuhan, Hubei province, issued job adverts on Friday for two public toilet managers, stating that successful applicants must have at least a bachelor’s degree.
The requirement was mocked by internet users.
One person wrote that his degree may be unlikely to qualify him to clean toilets. Another joked that the two staff members’ supervisor would need a master’s degree to get their job.
An unidentified official at the district urban management committee told the news website Cqcb.com that the educational requirements had always been in place for the job.
The official was quoted as saying that officials were each assigned to run several public toilets and their duties included daily patrols and overseeing maintenance.
“They’re not cleaners. They are responsible for management,” the official said. “Our committee values talent. Getting talented people to run toilets shows the high importance we attach to public toilets.”
China started a three-year campaign to improve the standard of public toilets at tourist sites across the country in 2015.
President Xi Jinping said in November that public conveniences across the country should also be upgraded to improve general living standards.
“Toilet issues are not petty matters, but are an important aspect of improving infrastructure in urban and rural areas,” he was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
