China Many public universities increase tuition fees by 10-54%, amid budget cuts.
In Shanghai, East China University of Science and Technology is charging 7,700 yuan (nearly $1,100) for new students majoring in science, engineering and sports this year, up 54 percent from the previous year. Tuition for social science majors is also up 30 percent.
At the Shanghai Institute of Electromechanics, tuition fees for science and engineering have increased by 40 percent, while students majoring in management, economics and literature will pay 30 percent more than last year. Public universities in Sichuan have also increased tuition fees, depending on the major, by as much as 41 percent.
This has become a concern for many families, whose incomes have fallen during the economic downturn. The tuition increase at East China University of Science and Technology is equivalent to 15% of the national average income and nearly 40% of the income of rural residents.
The increase in tuition fees is said to be due to schools needing more resources to invest in scientific and technological research, while facing cuts in the state budget.
Chu Mansheng, deputy director of the China Association for Education Development Strategy and an adviser to the Ministry of Education, said that university teaching and research rely on multiple sources of funding, including government funding. However, according to a report in March, the Ministry of Education cut this year’s budget for higher education to 102 billion yuan ($14 billion), nearly 4 billion yuan lower than last year, citing the need to closely manage and control overall spending, in line with government demands for “belt-tightening.”
"Schools operate on a cost-sharing basis, so students will have to bear part of the increased costs," Mr. Chu acknowledged.
Additionally, tuition fees that were set in 2000 are no longer appropriate, authorities in Jilin province said in March. However, the province has limited the increase to a maximum of 15% for government-funded universities and 10% for provincially funded schools.
Shanghai Institute of Electromechanics. Photo: Shanghai Dianji University
Despite the increase, tuition fees at public universities in China are still much lower than those at private institutions. Annual tuition fees at private universities range from 10,000 to 30,000 yuan ($1,400 to $4,100).
Universities with foreign elements have even higher tuition fees. At the undergraduate level, the most expensive is New York University Shanghai with tuition fees of 200,000 yuan ($27,300), followed by the University of Nottingham Ningbo China at 100,000 yuan ($13,700) per year.
China currently has about 2,700 universities. Many of its universities have climbed the world rankings thanks to investment in scientific research - a criterion that has the highest weight. Promoting international research and training cooperation is also seen as a way to realize China's ambition of becoming a science and technology powerhouse.
Khanh Linh (According to SCMP)
Source link
Comment (0)