The Shijiazhuang University of Technology in Hebei Province recently announced bankruptcy restructuring, sparking attention to the reasons behind the bankruptcy.
Earlier, the Hebei Enterprise Bankruptcy Managers Association announced that the Shijiazhuang University of Technology is undergoing bankruptcy restructuring and openly recruiting investors for the restructuring, with the deadline set for September 22. On September 22, a report by “Extreme News” in mainland China stated that the school has found restructuring investors, is now under government management, and will not affect normal teaching activities, allowing students to attend classes as usual. However, the report did not specify the bankruptcy reasons for this university.
Shijiazhuang University of Technology is a full-time provincial ordinary higher education institution, privately owned, located in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province, covering an area of nearly 1626 acres with a building area of 450,000 square meters. It is known as the “most beautiful campus” among provincial garden units and so-called high-level universities stationed in Shijiazhuang, with over 20,000 full-time students.
According to the “Tianyancha APP,” on July 30, the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People’s Court accepted the application for bankruptcy restructuring of the Shijiazhuang University of Technology. On September 8, the university, along with Shijiazhuang Zerui Education Technology Co., Ltd. and Shijiazhuang Zerui Business Development Co., Ltd., jointly issued a recruitment announcement for restructuring investors.
The school’s official WeChat account posted a message on September 7 indicating that the new students for the 2025 academic year are enrolling as usual.
Netizens commented: “Did they collect tuition fees from freshman students first, then proceed with the bankruptcy process?” “Kindergartens now can’t enroll enough children! Another decade and half of universities may face bankruptcy!”
Last month, Dalian University of Technology also faced news of suspending salary payments for all staff and the possibility of the school year starting off on a halt. On August 24, the university issued a statement on its official website explaining that the salary payment issue has been fully resolved, and classes will start as scheduled according to the teaching plan.
Dalian University of Technology has a total of 2 persons subject to enforcement action, with a total amount exceeding 230 million yuan; and a total of 35 historical enforcement actions with a total amount exceeding 3.5 billion yuan. Despite the school’s claim that the salary payment issue has been resolved, there are still concerns about whether the school can operate normally in the future.
Chinese universities are facing multiple pressures in operation, especially the impact of “graduating into unemployment” for college students.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China on September 17 showed that the unemployment rate for the population aged 16 to 24 (excluding full-time students) in August rose to 18.9%, an increase of 1.1 percentage points from July, marking the highest level since the revision of statistical methodology in December 2023. Some experts still doubt the authenticity of the data.
For the first time in a decade, the number of applicants for the National College Entrance Examination in 2025 decreased to 13.35 million, compared to 13.42 million applicants in 2024.
Meanwhile, tuition fees at Chinese universities are generally rising. According to a report by “Sina Finance,” in the summer of 2025, the iconic “¥5,000 era” of university tuition fees has come to an end, with tuition fees possibly entering the “¥10,000 era.”
Previously reported by Da Ji Yuan, Beijing Jiaotong University raised its tuition from 85,000 yuan to 105,000 yuan this year, an increase of about 24%; Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts, a private institution, raised its tuition from 50,000 yuan to 68,000 yuan, a 36% increase; Guizhou University raised undergraduate tuition from 5,000 yuan to 6,500 yuan, a 30% increase; Yunnan University increased its tuition from 4,200 yuan to 6,000 yuan, an increase of over 42%.
Faced with high costs, many working-class families are forced to give up. Enrollment scenes have become so desolate that it’s been described as “empty as a ghost town.” Enrollment officers have even resorted to calling students in the middle of the night to retain enrollments, only to be met with a resounding “no” from parents.