Colleges for elderly increasingly popular as seniors' thirst for knowledge grows

Senior citizens learn how to do a manicure from a teacher (left) at a community college for the elderly in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in October. (LIN YUNLONG/FOR CHINA DAILY)

With extra time on her hands, 58-year-old Liu Guiying, who is from Huangshan, Anhui province, plans to sign up in spring for some courses at a college for the elderly.

After retiring at the age of 55, Liu spent two years traveling with her husband and friends to many domestic destinations. However, with her enthusiasm for tourism fading, she has thought about learning something interesting to pass the time, and the dance performance her friends shared on social media only made that idea grow stronger.

"I'm very interested in singing and photography, and also want to try Latin dance," she said. "My friend told me that it's not easy to get a seat in the public college for the elderly, as many courses are snapped up within a few seconds."

China's population of elderly people has increased in recent years, and many seniors with a strong educational background have shown a strong willingness to study further, with the arts, musical instruments, healthcare and information technology being areas of great interest.

However, the number of colleges for the elderly may be far from meeting seniors' needs, so experts are calling for more social organizations and companies to join in pushing forward the development and popularization of elderly education.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the nation had about 297 million people age 60 or older as of the end of 2023, accounting for more than one-fifth of the total population. Among them, about 217 million are 65 or older.

In 2021, the National Bureau of Statistics unveiled the results of the nation's seventh census, which showed that the elderly population was highly literate. According to the census, in 2020, about 37 million people age 60 or above had at least a senior high school diploma. That was an increase of 20.85 million since 2010.

To meet the increasing demand, the college for the elderly in the Maizidian subdistrict of Beijing's Chaoyang district has expanded its courses from the initial two or three to the current nine.

"The nine courses include chorus, dancing, calligraphy, English learning and theater performance, which are all popular among the elderly students," said Zhang Yan, an official from the Maizidian subdistrict office. "In addition to these regular courses, we have other interesting courses on electronic-device literacy, makeup, fashion and anti-fraud tactics."

Zhang said that about 200 elderly students are admitted, free of charge, each academic year.

She said the college has been run at public expense, with about 300,000 yuan to 400,000 yuan ($41,000 to $55,000) provided each year for its operation.

The college's on-site classes are open to seniors under the age of 70 who live in Maizidian subdistrict and are in good health. For those elderly with a strong willingness to join the classes but have health problems or are 70 or older, the college offers some online courses, Zhang said.

"The courses at the college can help the elderly better transfer from working life to retirement, and can help prevent possible depression after retirement," she added.

The students can also gain "spiritual fulfillment from the courses, social interaction with their peers, and better relations with their children", she said.

The demand for education is likely to increase, as many new retirees in the next five to 10 years are expected to have even higher educational backgrounds and a stronger need for spiritual fulfillment.

Liu, the Huangshan resident, said: "I got support from my husband and daughter, who said I won't feel lonely with classmates of my own age. My husband still has two or three years before retirement, so it will be a good choice to enrich myself at the seniors' college when he is not at home."

In March last year, the Seniors University of China, a national-level university for the elderly, was established in Beijing, marking an important milestone in the reform and development of education for the elderly.

As of April last year, there were about 76,000 colleges or schools for the elderly nationwide, involving more than 20 million students, according to the China Association of the Universities for the Aged.

Zhai Dehua, director of the Institute of Aging Statistics and Survey Research at the China Research Center on Aging, said that among these colleges, over 80 percent are organized by government bodies, with only around 5 percent run by social organizations or companies.

However, there are no specific policies, regulations or standards to support and supervise the privately operated colleges for the elderly, which may hamper involvement by social organizations or companies, Zhai said.

"Developing elderly education is a positive way to cope with the aging problem, and the government can continue its fiscal support to develop inclusive elderly colleges," he said.

In January, the State Council released a guideline that encouraged social entities to start colleges for the elderly. It also called for establishing a State-level public service platform for elderly education, and pooling educational and teaching resources for the elderly.