Inefficient Colleges to Go Bankrupt as College-Age Population Declines

Education experts here in China are now predicting that a number of colleges may go bankrupt over the next decade because of inefficiency and a drop in the number of college applicants.

And they say the potential bankruptcies should serve as a warning that the higher education system in this country has to be streamlined and upgraded.

Yunfeng has more.

Reporter:

After a rapid expansion in enrollment over the last decade, some Chinese colleges may shut down in the next ten years.

Xiong Bingqi, an expert at Shanghai Jiaotong University, bases the warning on his own analysis.

"Because of the decline in the college-aged population, it's very likely that some colleges may have to close over the next decade. Private colleges and independent colleges will suffer the brunt of the crisis."

Xiong Bingqi says China currently has 120 million people who are college-aged, or 18 to 22 years old. He predicts that the number will plunge to 80 million by 2020.

He argues that the declining college-age population may cause a lack of applicants for the least competitive universities, like inefficient private colleges and low-quality public universities.

Xie Zuoxu, an education researcher from Xiamen University, partly agrees.

"It's 'survival of the fittest.' The inefficient colleges go bankrupt. But universities, no matter private or public, can avoid the risk if they endeavor to improve teaching quality and create more access to the job market for their graduates."

Xiong Bingqi echoes that opinion, saying cost-efficiency is crucial for the success of a college.

"Universities should explore all necessary means of reducing their operational costs. For example, some colleges are overloaded with excessive administrative expenses. It's imperative for them to cut administrative staff and related costs."

Chinese universities have experienced a dramatic enrollment expansion since 1999. Figures from the Ministry of Education indicate that an average of 4 million students have flooded into universities each year over the past decade.

To cope with the influx of students, many universities have built new campuses or other teaching infrastructure but have done little to improve the quality of education. And some are even burdened with debt as they have borrowed huge bank loans for their expansion.

Yunfeng CRI news.