Chinese educational authorities have pledged to offer more support to privately-owned colleges as competition in the educational market intensifies.

The authorities are also working on a series of regulations to strengthen supervision over private colleges and guarantee their quality and healthy development, Wei Yaping, an official with the Information Office of the Ministry of Education, was quoted by Monday's China Daily as saying.

There are now more than 1,000 private colleges across the country, 73 of which are qualified to issue diplomas with the authorization of the Ministry of Education, the newspaper said.

Regular universities and colleges recruited 1.8 million students nationwide this year, with the admission rate averaging 49 percent.

Many of the students who are not admitted to State universities and colleges opt to attend private colleges.

However, many private colleges are still suffering a shortage of students. Peizheng Business College in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, aimed to recruit 2,000 students this year, but only managed to enroll 1,000.

Although competition is tight in the market, many students are unwilling to pay the fees of private colleges. Tuition fees range between 2,500 yuan (US$ 300) and 6,000 yuan (US$ 722) an academic year.

(Xinhua News Agency 09/10/2001)