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Every year, the college entrance examination season is always round after round of hard work and tests. As the exams came to an end, the students were immersed in the joy of liberation, celebrated with their friends, and enjoyed the last summer of their high school careers. However, parents face new challenges, especially those whose children have erratic grades and are unable to attend public universities. The high tuition fees of private universities have become a heavy burden for them.
With the general rise in college tuition, tuition has become an important part of the finances of many families. The tuition fees of some private colleges and universities are even as high as 25,000 yuan per year, and some are 30,000 or 40,000 yuan per year. After four years, tuition plus living expenses and food expenses must cost a huge amount, equivalent to a down payment on buying a house in a small county. At the same time, according to the notice issued by the government on "Adjusting Undergraduate Tuition Fees of Public Colleges and Universities in Multiple Provinces", the tuition fees of public universities have also increased slightly. For example, the tuition fee of Anhui University rose from 5420 yuan to 7215 yuan per academic year, and the annual expenditure was 1795 yuan. The tuition fee of Fudan University's undergraduate major has increased from 6500-8140 yuan a year, compared with the previous 5000-6500 yuan. Shandong, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Henan, Hebei and other provinces have also announced that tuition fees have been raised from 5,000 yuan to 6,000 yuan. College tuition gradually exceeded the 5,000 yuan mark and gradually moved towards 6,000 yuan.
To understand how all this changed, however, we need to go back to 1977. It was a beautiful golden age, with tuition free and low prices. From the resumption of the college entrance examination in 1977 to the symbolic charge of 200 yuan in 1989, and then to 2021, the tuition fee of most colleges and universities exceeded the 6,000 yuan mark. After 34 years, tuition fees have increased 30-fold, a figure that may be somewhat difficult to understand. For example, around 1989, the price of a bowl of rice noodles was 5 cents, and today in Kunming, the price of a bowl of rice noodles may reach 12 yuan, that is, a 24-fold increase. Why did universities charge no fees in 1977, but today college tuition fees are so high? This question has puzzled many people and opinions are divided.
In the 2030s, the annual tuition fee of national universities was between 20 and 40 silver dollars, and the tuition fees of different national universities also differed. For example, the annual tuition fee of Tsinghua Peking University is only 20 silver yuan, and it does not include accommodation. However, from 1950 to 1985, the state began to fully cover school fees. Not only is it free for students to go to school, but some poor students even receive 17-23 yuan per month. During that period, students who went to college almost always lived happily ever after, as college students were very scarce and the job market desperately needed their knowledge and skills.
However, over time, the mainland's higher education system has undergone many policy changes, including the resumption of gaokao, targeted admissions, and unplanned admissions. It was only in 1989 that the state began to charge a nominal fee of only 200 yuan a year for higher education. In 1993, Shanghai Overseas Chinese University and Southeast University became the first batch of pilot schools to implement a fee policy. Between 1996 and 2000, tuition fees began to rise rapidly, reaching 30 or even 50 per cent. In other words, as early as around 1996, the tuition standard had exceeded 4,000 yuan per year. After that, the tuition fee was adjusted to about 5,000 yuan per year, until in recent years it rose again to about 6,000 yuan per year. All things considered, tuition fees increase roughly every 10 years.
Therefore, according to the historical development of college tuition fees, the mainland's colleges and universities charge fees as a principle, no fees as an exception, except for the special period of 1950-1985, colleges and universities in other periods need to charge. During that special period, the state implemented a special policy, and in order to train a large number of talents, it implemented a free policy. However, just because we enjoy this particular policy, we should not treat it as the norm. There is no free lunch in the world, and there is no free education forever. Universities need to invest huge sums of money in construction, equipment renewal, faculty recruitment and research project support, which can not only be solved by state finances. If it has been relying on state financial support, as the mainland population continues to grow, reaching 1.4 billion by 2020, the continued implementation of the tuition fee reduction policy will put great pressure on the national finance.
Therefore, the era of no tuition fees in 1977 was special and could not become the norm. The rise in tuition fees does not mean that colleges and universities have become profitable enterprises, but that they are about meeting the funds needed for the development of universities. Colleges and universities need to provide advanced educational resources and a good learning environment to meet the learning needs of students and the cultivation of professional ability. The increase in tuition fees also helps colleges and universities to conduct more research projects and provide more academic support, thereby improving the quality of education and academic standards. Abroad, especially in the United States, tuition fees at public universities are much higher than on the mainland, and many of the top institutions are private, making it nearly impossible for the average family to enter. Mainland universities, especially public universities, provide more people with the opportunity to receive high-quality education. In addition, tuition fees on the mainland are relatively low, and students are able to repay tuition loans within five years after graduation, compared to students in the United States who usually take longer to pay off high student loans. As a result, despite rising tuition fees, higher education on the mainland is still relatively cheap compared to internationally.
From another point of view, private school tuition fees are even more ridiculously expensive. In 2020, the annual tuition fee of some ordinary private colleges and universities was still 10,000 yuan five, and in 2021, the tuition fee generally increased, reaching 20,000 yuan five per year. This means that many students with average grades and limited family finances face a dilemma after the college entrance examination. They are not willing to afford the high tuition fees of private schools and are not satisfied with enrolling in junior colleges, because their scores are more than ten points higher than the specialist line, wasting their potential. In this dilemma, where families need to choose to buy a bachelor's degree for their children, the mainland's non-profit education system is very important. In this case, students can obtain a "student source loan", and the loan amount will increase as the tuition fee of the university increases. In addition, there are grants, national inspirational scholarships, national scholarships, and scholarships set up by schools. These are all money, as long as you perform well and work hard, you have a chance to get it. So the assessment that some people call universities "profitable companies" is really a narrow view. No profit-making company will give you a scholarship because you study well, which reflects the non-profit nature of mainland education. The state encourages students to study, gives generous scholarships, and ultimate success depends on individual effort.
In addition, the standard of tuition fees in the mainland is lower compared to abroad. The average annual tuition fee of public universities in the United States is about 22,698 US dollars, while the average annual tuition fee of public universities in the mainland is 6,000 yuan. By comparing tuition fees with per capita income, it can be seen that the pressure on university tuition fees on the mainland is relatively small. To use the example of the United States, even American elites, such as former President Barack Obama, worked for more than a decade to pay off their student loans. Students on the mainland, on the other hand, are usually able to pay off their student loans within five years. This means that college tuition on the mainland is not as heavy as some people think.
In addition, educational resources are more equal in the mainland. In the United States, many top universities are private and only the wealthy can afford them. But in China, the best universities are public, and as long as you are smart enough and hardworking, you have access to top-notch educational resources. Unlike the United States, the continent's educational resources are more equal, and opportunities depend more on individual efforts than family wealth or relationships.
The rise in tuition fees does not mean that colleges and universities have forgotten the original intention of teaching and educating people, but because of the needs of university construction. Colleges and universities need to invest in upgrading and maintaining teaching equipment, recruiting and maintaining exceptional faculty teams, and supporting a variety of research projects. These expenditures are not only dependent on state financial subsidies. The increase in tuition fees is to ensure that colleges and universities can provide advanced educational resources and a good learning environment to better meet the learning needs of students and cultivate their professional abilities. The increase in tuition fees also helps schools to conduct more research projects and provide more academic support, thereby improving the quality of education and academic standards.
Despite the rise in tuition fees, university tuition fees on the mainland are relatively low, and the loan burden of graduates is relatively light compared to the international level. Compared with the United States, college education on the mainland is not only more affordable, but also more equal, providing more people with access to high-quality education. The increase in tuition fees is not only for the economic development of colleges and universities, but also to better meet the needs of students, improve the quality of education, and train more professionals. The rise in college tuition does not mean that colleges and universities have become profitable enterprises, but for the sustainable development of education.
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