The Ministry of Education will work to help widen college
recruitment, aid poor students with loans and improve
business-backed campus services.
The number of students attending higher learning institutions will
hit 16 million by 2005 from the present level of 13 million, the
Ministry of Education announced yesterday.
The government began to expand college recruitment in 1999 to
provide youngsters with more chances of higher education and drive
economic development.
Three years of widening recruitment have played an active role in
training professionals, the ministry's spokesperson said.
But this has exacerbated problems such as insufficient funds for
teaching material and limited accommodation for newcomers.
The ministry has reiterated that regional governments should
increase their budgets for education, the spokesperson said.
To
make campuses less crowded, universities are encouraged to seek
funding from private firms to build accommodation facilities and
dining halls.
Halls of residence were previously supported mainly by government
funding in the country's 1,021 regular universities.
In
many universities, six to eight students share a dormitory with an
area of just 10 squares meters and must sleep on bunk beds.
To
help ease the financial burden caused by widened college
recruitment, universities are opening campus services to the
private market, the spokesperson said.
China has adopted a pay-to-learn system in its universities,
meaning a student is required to pay 3,500 yuan (US$422) for
tuition each year.
Different universities can slightly adjust their tuitions according
to regional economic conditions.
But many students find it difficult to meet the extra living costs
incurred during their studies. To help poor students complete their
college education, the government will continue to operate its loan
system.
(China
Daily April 22, 2002)