The college population is expected to hit 7 million this year as the nation's student loan programme enters its second year.

Classes commenced yesterday across China, but registration continues through the middle of September for the fall term, so the exact number of enrollees won't be known for a few weeks, the Ministry of Education (MOE) officials said.

One reason for a surge in students is a MOE regulation requiring universities to offer loans to those who cannot otherwise afford tuition and living expenses. Tsinghua University, for example, is offering students applications for more than 8,000 yuan (US$964) each to cover costs, a typical sum for university loans.

An estimated one-fifth of the 7 million college students are poor. This group hails mainly from central, western and rural areas, meaning their monthly family incomes are lower than the local basic cost of living. Regional floors for living expenses are different due to disparities in development. In Beijing, it's about 280 yuan (US$34), but in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei Province, it is 195 yuan (US$23), according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The loan system will be under the watch of MOE, the Ministry of Finance and the People's Bank of China, MOE Vice-Minister Zhang Baoqing said.

Regional banks can report universities that are slow to submit student loan applications to provincial-level education officials or MOE, he said.

Universities, in turn, can report banks that refuse to issue loans for improper reasons to the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank.

Zhang called on university presidents to keep an eye on the implementation of the loan system.

Each college should find a bank for long-term co-operation and designate a special office on campus to help students get loans, he urged.

The loan system for poor college students started in 1999. Since then, the Bank of China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Construction Bank of China and the Agricultural Bank of China - the so-called "Big Four" in the country - have started lending to students.

(China Daily 09/04/2001)