Relocating to suburbs may not be best option for universities

AN INCREASING number of Chinese universities plan to expand by building new campuses in suburban areas. China Youth Daily highlights the latent risks of universities relocating away from city centers with regard to talent recruitment and teacher-student relationships. It suggests that universities should think twice before rushing to relocate.

After years of enrollment expansion, many universities want to build new campuses in the suburbs as they are struggling to accommodate more students.

Local governments of suburban areas are also keen to attract universities as the new campuses will encourage further development around them and so push up the local land prices.