WARSAW, Poland, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- A dramatic drop in male enrollment means some Polish universities could face bankruptcy, authorities in Warsaw said.

Just 33 percent of Polish college students enrolled this year are men, a drop from 2003 when men accounted for more than half the students attending colleges, Polish Radio reported Tuesday.


The decline, expected to increase in coming years, was caused by Poland's abolition of compulsory military service, said a government report on finance and management at universities in Poland.

Men often used college enrollment to avoid serving in the armed forces. Now that military conscription has been abolished, many men no longer see the need for a college education, the report said.

The decrease in enrollment is expected to harm universities, especially private colleges that depend on high enrollments to sustain their budgets. Those colleges could face bankruptcy if more students don't attend, the report said.