Nearly half of all colleges nationwide failed to meet their enrollment quotas for the academic year that began in April as the shrinking birthrate continued to deprive them of students, a survey by a school support group showed Thursday.
Of the 265 private four-year colleges that came up short, 31 didn't even get half of their fixed numbers, said the survey conducted by the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan.
"The gap is widening between schools that devote managerial efforts and those that do not," an official of the group said.
The group of 265 represent 46.5 percent of all such colleges in Japan.
Among 356 two-year private junior colleges in the survey, 69.1 percent were underenrolled, marking the third consecutive year in which more than 60 percent of such schools suffered from poor enrollment, the survey said.