A total of 130,000 graduates from Chinese universities and colleges are expected to join the army this winter - a record number. China wants to improve the quality of servicemen while grappling with the graduate job crisis, reports the official news agency Xinhau.

The Ministry of Education said on Wednesday that if recruited, every student-turned soldier would receive a one-off refund of up to 24,000 yuan (US$3,500) on college tuition fees or student loans. The money, paid from the central government's budget, roughly equals the tuition fee for a four-year university education in China.

"This means the state pays for university education of those servicemen," said Zhang Haoming, deputy director of the ministry's department for college student affairs. Graduates will also have more chance of being promoted or receiving education at military academies. After finishing the two-year compulsory service, they are also promised preference while seeking jobs at police and other law-enforcement departments.
Full report on the Xinhau site