’Restructuring is not one-time event’

Minister Lee calls for university presidents to carry through reforms

By Na Jeong-ju

Education Minister Lee Ju-ho said Monday the government’s ongoing efforts to restructure colleges are not temporary, but part of a long-term strategy aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of local universities.

He also pledged to press ahead with educational reform, saying non-viable, poorly-managed schools won’t be able to survive.

“There is a misunderstanding among some people that our reform plan will be short-lived. But this is not the case,” Lee said at a meeting with the presidents of 38 state and public universities at the President Hotel in central Seoul.

“We predict that, in 12 years, student enrollments at colleges will decrease by 40 percent from the current levels. The future is dark if we don’t change now. We must act for the future.”

Trying to gain approval for his push to restructure, he pledged to strengthen communication with each school to ensure that the reforms are carried out successfully.

Later in the day, he held a separate meeting with the leaders of student councils to explain the ministry’s plans to effectively lower tuition costs and expand scholarships.

Last week, the ministry picked five “substandard” state-run universities that will face rigorous restructuring and financial restrictions. They were Kangwon, Chungbuk, Gangneung-Wonju and Kunsan national universities, and Busan National University of Education.

The measure came a few weeks after it decided not to give state subsidies to 43 private colleges next year.

The blacklisted schools have claimed that the methods and standards the government adopted to rate schools were unfair. In a recent interview with The Korea Times, however, Minister Lee dismissed such allegations, saying they were rigorous tests for uncompetitive, poorly-managed schools in order to expel the worst ones.

“We set up the evaluation standards after gathering opinions from all the concerned schools. But some poorly-rated schools are criticizing us now. Their behavior is not understandable,” Lee said in the interview.

Some university presidents said they were discouraged by what they called the government’s “radical and biased” school policy.

Kangwon National University President Kwon Young-joong said at Monday’s gathering that the ministry failed to consider the uniqueness of each school when they rated universities.

“We’ve played a significant role in regional development as a community college despite a number of difficulties, but this contribution was ignored. It’s very regrettable,” Kwon said.

The government’s move to weed out underperforming schools is tied to its tuition-cut drive.

To meet such goals, the education ministry plans to spend 1.5 trillion won ($1.4 billion) next year on expanding scholarships for students.

Officials said competitive schools will receive more support from the government, but there will be no support for schools that are beyond saving.

Hours after the meeting with school presidents, Minister Lee also met heads of school councils of universities across the nation to listen to their opinions on measures to reduce tuition costs and other pending issues.