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To the chagrin of many Chinese experts, more and more Chinese students seem to be losing interest in the idea of science as a career.

“In the 1980s, it was a common goal shared by many children to become scientists. That was a major cause of the proliferation of our nation’s scientists. However, jobs related to science are no longer as appealing as they used to be,” Sun Yunxiao, director of the China Youth and Children Research Center, told Science and Technology Daily.

Sun warned that this is a matter concerning future national development, and should therefore be dealt with as soon as possible.

“Otherwise we will soon feel the impact of a shortage of scientific talent,” Sun predicted.

Only 16.8 percent of surveyed Chinese students had science-related career aspirations in 2015, while the average share for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries was 24.5 percent, according to the most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, issued last December.

The survey results are released every three years by OECD, based on the assessments of some 540,000 15-year-old students in 72 economies.

Similarly, in a survey conducted by China Youth and Children Research Center in 2013, less than one-third of surveyed high school students said they wanted to work in the sciences. The percentage for primary school students was 52.5 percent.

Sun said the declining interest may be a result of changing values among younger generations, as many students are reluctant to accept jobs involving a heavy work load. Some are unwilling to make any sacrifices at all for future jobs.

“Some [students] are also prioritizing money, and science-related jobs are often not the highest-paying. Others may think it is more important to study politics or economics rather than science to better adapt to our changing society,” Sun explained.

“A decade of scientific breakthroughs has failed to translate into breakthroughs in science performance in schools … Every country has room for improvement, even the top performers. With high levels of youth unemployment, rising inequality, a significant gender gap and an urgent need to boost inclusive growth in many countries, more must be done to ensure every child has the best education possible,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría, on the occasion of the PISA report launch in London.