More than 4 million students have enrolled in universities nationwide this year, an increase of 400,000, CCTV reported Wednesday.

Minister of Education Zhou Ji said 50 percent of students who took college entrance exams were accepted. The total college-age students newly-enrolled was over 19 percent.

Zhou said more than 20 million students are now enrolled in colleges. But the enrollment rate at universities and colleges is still lower than in America, Russia and Japan. The minister also said the enrollment rate is expected to reach 23% in 2010.