Opinion | Beijing must act to ensure a university degree is worth its costs

This summer brought an unusual challenge to China’s higher education system: some universities couldn’t find enough students.

In provinces like Guangxi, Guangdong and Shandong, dozens of private universities fell short of their enrolment targets. Many lowered entry standards to fill classrooms, yet some still had thousands of empty seats as the autumn semester began. Some public universities, in places from Yunnan to Henan and Shandong, are also facing the same challenge.

Part of the reason is financial. According to local media reports, tuition fees at both private and public universities in more than 20 provinces rose this year, with average increases of about 15 per cent and some as high as 35 per cent – vastly outpacing growth in household income. At some private universities, which receive little state funding, annual tuition now exceeds 40,000 yuan (US$5,600). When living expenses are factored in, a typical household could end up spending well over half its income to support a single child through college. For rural and low-income families, the financial burden is even greater.

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Why is China’s gruelling gaokao college entrance exam so tough?

Why is China’s gruelling gaokao college entrance exam so tough?

Yet, the central government in recent years has scaled back state funding for universities and funnelled more of the money into programmes seen as strategically important – such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing.