Freeze on university tuition fees reaffirmed by education ministry

The Ministry of Education has reaffirmed a freeze on mainland university tuition fees amid rising concern over soaring expenses for college students.

Assistant Education Minister Yang Zhoufu pledged yesterday to keep college fees at last year's level, even though mainland higher education institutions are facing a cash crunch from rising costs and interest payments on bank loans.

He said the overall level of tuition fees for mainland colleges had been stable since 2000 as a result of clampdowns on an almost yearly basis against overcharging at universities. But his upbeat assessment seems at odds with heightened public concern in recent years over escalating university tuition costs.

A 2005 Xinhua report said tuition fees rose by a few hundred yuan each year between 1994 and 2004, increasing fees nearly twenty-fold over the period, to 8,000 yuan a year. Rising education fees, along with mounting medical bills and higher housing prices have led to increased social tensions, analysts say.

Beijing Institute of Technology professor Yang Dongping said management at mainland universities had good reason to charge students more because many universities, particularly regional colleges, had run up a mountain of debt during a decade of reckless expansion and lack of public funding.

He said universities may keep tuition fees at the same level, but students could end up paying more for other types of charges.