CRI听力：Expert: Issuing Treasury Bond to Pay College Debts

The report says the debt owed by Chinese colleges to banks now totals about 250 billion yuan, or over 30 billion US dollars.

Professor Jia Qingguo, who participated in the preparation of the report, says the huge debts are mainly brought about since the late 1990s, when the government encouraged colleges to expand enrolment. 

"As enrolment expanded, colleges had to expand their facilities as well. As the government's budget was limited, colleges had to borrow money from banks. The process has produced many unpaid loans. Some colleges now find themselves with insufficient flowing capital and their assets are not as much as their debts. Some even face the danger of bankruptcy."

He says many colleges are actually in a position to pay back part of their debt. But in general, it's impossible for them to pay off all of their debt by the due date.

The professor warns that the college's financial risks could result in social ones.

He says the treasure bond will help colleges repay their loans, in addition to insufficient financial appropriation.

Other solutions have also been proposed, like regrouping the debts, extending the due dates, having central and local governments paying part of the interest, and increasing the government's education budget.

Meanwhile, Professor Jia says colleges should still shoulder some of the responsibility. 

"Some colleges merged with others. They shouldn't be able to freely occupy the old campuses. They can pay off some debt by selling off some of their idle land. Meanwhile, colleges should strengthen their financial management and improve financial efficiency."

The professor adds that the government should, in the future, strictly control the amount of money colleges are allowed to borrow from banks.