Following this year’s summer holiday, the price of pork soared to 52 yuan ($8) per kilogram in September, compared to 29.9 yuan in June, causing inevitable headaches – and price hikes – at college canteens across the country. Though it may not seem like a lot, such price hikes can add up and eat away at the living standards – and quality of life – of young people nationwide.
A graduate student at Hohai University in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, who requested anonymity, said canteens at his school have continually been raising food prices during his two-year tenure there.
“Every time I go back to school after a holiday, I discover that the prices at the canteen have risen again,” he told the Global Times.
He gave the example of a simple steamed bun, which has risen from the former price of 0.7 yuan to 1 yuan now.
“I have to spend additional 50 yuan per month compared to two years ago,” he said. “When you’re living on a student budget, these soaring prices can make a big difference.”
If it’s not rising prices, it’s shrinking portions: Liao Xingmiu, a graduate student at Renmin University of China School of International Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times that while canteens at his university still maintain their prices, they’re getting far less bang for the buck.
“I always seem to find myself with smaller and smaller amounts of food on my plates,” he told the Global Times.
Soaring expenses
The number of college students reached 23.56 million in 2010, compared to 3.59 million in 1998. Nowadays, college students’ daily expenses for food is 300 million yuan ($47 million) in total, according to China Youth Daily.
Since 2006, the Beijing government has made an effort to restrain price hikes at college canteens, and just in the last six months, subsidies from the Beijing government to canteens has reached 200 million yuan. Nevertheless, this still results in a monthly deficit per student of 50 yuan, according to the report.
The growing complaints from college students about price hikes have attracted the attention of the Ministry of Education (MOE), which held a two-day conference focused on college logistics in Ji’nan, Shandong Province, attended by representatives from colleges in more than 20 provinces.
During the meeting, Lu Xin, vice-minister of MOE, required that colleges strengthen their financial support for logistics departments, which includes food, with special emphasis on children from poverty-stricken areas.
Austere life
Bai Mi, a second-year graduate student at Nanjing University, told the Global Times that as someone from an underdeveloped area in the Western region of China, she felt quite satisfied with the canteens in her university.
“The prices of food in our canteens have stayed the same during the last two years,” she said. “Each meal costs 4 to 7 yuan, including the meat dishes.”
The daily cost of food is about 15 yuan, or 450 yuan a month. Every graduate student in the university receives a 500-yuan subsidy every month, with the subsidy for doctoral candidates doubled to 1,000 yuan per month, she said.
“As long as you always lead a thrifty life, it’s not hard to manage,” she said.
Yin Sanhong, the manager of the Nanjing University’s logistics department, admitted that Nanjing University canteens were feeling acute pressures regarding food prices.
“We are trying our best to maintain the quality of food while keeping the same price,” he said, adding that they ran a deficit of 1.81 million yuan in the first half of this year.
“This means we have to cut from other areas in the university – that or raise prices,” he added.
The stability of food prices in college canteens is related to the overall stability of society to some degree, said Wang Hongcai, an education professor at Xiamen University in Fujian Province.
“Stable living expenses allow students to concentrate on their studies, rather than constantly worrying about costs and money,” he told the Global Times. “This price inequality could exacerbate the gap between rich and poor, which is already an issue on many campuses.”
