教育部出台政策规范大专院校食堂菜价

China’s Ministry of Education has ordered all universities to stabilize the prices of meals served in their canteens in the wake of* recent increases in food prices.

The average price of a dish served in a university canteen in Beijing, Wuhan and Guangzhou has increased by between 0.10 yuan (1.3 cents) and one yuan (13 cents).

Some Beijing University students are even choosing to dine* at the neighboring Qinghua University, which is currently dishing out cheaper meals.

The cost of keeping the canteen meal prices down will be borne by the universities and local governments, which have been told to increase subsidies* to higher education institutions.

“Universities and colleges across the country must stabilize canteen food prices, adjust the type of food available without compromising* nutritional* value and ensure the supply of low-price food,” said ministry spokesman Wang Xuming.

“College canteens should reduce waste and cost,” he continued, warning college officials not to treat the situation as “a petty* issue of food and drink.”

“It is very important for universities to budget carefully at this time,” said Wang.

Wang urged universities to sign meat supply contracts directly with food processing plants to reduce costs but Wu Lan, director of the Beijing universities joint food purchasing center, said he believed it was not enough to solve the problem.

“Although most universities in Beijing purchase food together in bulk* which guarantees a low price, the overall market price has risen sharply and even universities that jointly purchase food in wholesale* cannot escape the surging price,” Wu told the Beijing News.