Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news

Zhang, a freshman in journalism department of a university in Hangzhou, began the new school term with a domestic helper. While she visits with her roommate, Zhang's housekeeper tidies up her bedding.
Zhang was not alone.
Many university students, especially freshmen, are having their own domestic helpers or invite hourly-paid housekeepers to clean for them during specific periods. The situation has aroused a heated debate on the campus.
"It is so excessive to invite domestic helpers to clean for us, we are not too busy to handle such simple chores," said Zhou Jie, a sophomore with the Zhejiang Institute of Finance and Economics, adding that few students around her have housekeepers.
University students should be independent and should be thrifty in spending their parents' money, said a parent of a freshman.
Improving students' independence is an important part of college education, said Shen, an English teacher with the Hangzhou Institute of Electronic Engineering.
However, some students are in favor of the behavior.
"I am overloaded by studies every day, and having a housekeeper can help me save time," said Li Min, a student in his junior year preparing for a postgraduate examination.
"After the housekeeper clean the dorm for us, I feel so comfortable and my study more efficiently," said Ye, another student.
"University students should be our target customers, and inviting housekeepers doesn't mean that students are unable to clean, but they can save time for more important things," said several spokesmen with local housekeeping firms, adding that there are different social divisions of labors.