On September 19, 2023, domestic universities suffered an unprecedented wave of closures, even some prestigious universities could not escape doom, and the survival of private universities was even more precarious. This even includes some prestigious schools. This phenomenon has aroused widespread concern from all walks of life, and at the same time has made people worry about the future living space of private universities. The unprecedented wave of closures facing domestic universities is shocking. Even prestigious universities, which have always been famous, have not been spared bad luck, and private universities are in a precarious situation. This is a thought-provoking question of why so many universities cannot continue to operate, and what impact will it have.
As we all know, university education in China has always attracted much attention. Whether it is 985, 211 key universities or local famous schools, they have attracted a large number of students to study with their excellent faculty and rich teaching resources. However, now these gold-like universities are also starting to fall into trouble, gradually closing down or in jeopardy. The cause of this wave of closures can be traced back to the intensification of competition in the domestic higher education market. With the disappearance of Chinese lip dividends, the number of college enrollments has declined year by year, making the competition extremely fierce. At the same time, the concentration of excellent teachers in domestic high-quality universities has also made it difficult for some ordinary universities to compete with them. Under this competitive pressure, some schools began to experience a deterioration in their financial situation. There are many reasons for the wave of university closures. On the one hand, the rapid growth of the number of mainland universities in recent years has led to fierce competition, and many schools have difficulties in enrollment. The lack of market demand and the excessive supply of degrees have weakened students' willingness to choose prestigious schools, which has undoubtedly brought great pressure to the enrollment of prestigious schools
On the other hand, some schools overly chase the vanity indicators of prestigious universities, regardless of the matching of quality and actual demand, resulting in the waste of educational resources and the decline of quality. The accumulation of these problems has caused some universities to gradually fall into financial difficulties and unable to provide a good teaching and development environment for teachers and students. Elite schools are not immune to the risk of closure. Traditionally, elite schools have been more solid with their reputation and hard power, but as the pressure on students to find employment increases, the employment rate of schools begins to have a direct impact on enrollment. In the face of the severe employment situation and the disappearance of the demographic dividend, the enrollment plans of some prestigious schools are declining every year. This has led to a serious reduction in the funding sources of elite schools, and some schools with imperfect funding chains have gradually fallen into trouble. One of the important reasons is the intensification of competition in the university market. With the increase in the number of students enrolled in the gaokao and the government's strong support for the development of colleges and universities, the choice of students has become wider. In contrast, competition between elite schools is more intense, and the government's investment and resources for elite schools are more inclined.
This has gradually compressed the living space of some non-prestigious schools, and it is difficult to obtain sufficient student resources and financial support. The survival dilemma of private universities is even more serious. As a relatively young type of university, private universities often face more difficulties and challenges in the process of construction. First of all, the cost of running a school is relatively high, including the investment in teachers, facilities, teaching resources and other aspects is difficult to compare with public universities. Secondly, due to the lack of reputation and popularity of prestigious universities, private universities often face competitive disadvantages in the recruitment process, and attracting more outstanding students has become a major problem. Compared with public universities, private universities have always had many problems in terms of funding sources. First of all, private colleges and universities usually rely on tuition income to maintain the operation of schools, and the excessive concentration of educational resources in some regions has led to intensified market competition, and the number of students in private colleges and universities has been impacted, which further weakens the financial status of schools. Secondly, the cost of running private colleges and universities is relatively high, including teachers, equipment, etc., which also increases the financial pressure of schools.
Faced with these difficulties, some private universities have to seek ways to merge or close. This wave of closures has also promoted the development of higher education to some extent. On the one hand, competition between schools will force schools to reform and innovate to improve teaching quality and academic standards. On the other hand, the government will strengthen the supervision of the higher education market and increase support and rescue for closed schools to protect the rights and interests of students. In this context, both university administrations and civil society need to increase their support for university education. The government should introduce a series of policies and measures to provide more development opportunities for non-elite schools, encourage them to innovate the way they run schools, and improve the quality of teaching. At the same time, all sectors of society can also increase their attention and support for private universities, and provide them with more donations and financial assistance.
However, as parents and students, they should also choose wisely, and do not blindly pursue prestigious schools and ignore some excellent but less famous universities. After all, college doesn't have just one path to success, and everyone has their own interests and expertise. As long as you choose the right institution for you, study diligently, and persevere, you can get excellent education and development opportunities in any school. Elite schools cannot escape the fate of bankruptcy. In the past, the prestige and quality assurance of prestigious schools once made them an ideal choice for students and parents. However, with the rise of other universities, the position occupied by elite schools has also taken a hit. Although prestigious universities have a good foundation in faculty and academic research, they rely too much on past prestige and lack innovative school-running models and mechanisms, resulting in the gradual weakening of the competitiveness of elite universities. Under such circumstances, it is difficult for elite schools to resist the doom of bankruptcy, and need to re-examine their own development direction and enhance their core competitiveness.
In general, the current wave of closures faced by domestic universities is the result of a combination of factors. Although both prestigious and private universities are facing difficulties, this wave of closure will also become a reshuffle of China's higher education, bringing new opportunities for the healthy development of the industry. At the same time, governments and schools should work together to find suitable solutions to ensure the stability and sustainable development of higher education. The phenomenon of the collapse of domestic universities is indeed worrying, but it also reminds us to pay more attention to the quality and development of university education. Moreover, we cannot measure the value of a university only by the evaluation criteria of elite universities, each university has its own characteristics and advantages. Through the joint efforts of the government and society, I believe that we can create more development opportunities and broad development space for the future of university education.