University restructuring falters

Baik Sung-gi, chair of the University Reformation Committee at the Ministry of Education, gives a presentation during a discussion session at Sogang University in Seoul, June 7. The ministry held the session to hear different opinions on the ongoing university restructuring program. / Yonhap

More drastic measures needed to close troubled institutions

By Chung Hyun-chae

The Park Geun-hye administration has made little progress in the much-needed restructuring of colleges and universities in order to cope with the falling number of new students amid the low birthrate and to let go of nonviable learning institutions.

The Ministry of Education started the long-term restructuring program in 2014 with the goal of reducing the total enrollment quota by 160,000 by the end of 2023. In the short term, the ministry planned to cut the quota by 47,000 between 2014 and 2016.

However, critics have hit out at the government for being too slow in structural reforms by taking only expedient measures.

The ministry has so far focused on encouraging universities to reduce their student quota on a voluntary basis in return for financial aid. This aid package includes the Program for Industrial Needs-Matched Education (PRIME) and the Initiative for College of Humanities’ Research and Education (CORE).

PRIME is to help universities beef up their science and engineering departments while curtailing the student quota in humanities and social sciences. The aim of this program was to meet industrial demand for engineers and technicians.

In May, 21 universities, including Konkuk University and Ewha Womans University, were selected as participants of the program. The ministry will provide a combined total of 600 billion won to those schools over the next three years.

At the same time, the ministry also selected 16 universities including Korea University and Sungkyunkwan University to promote the humanities so that they can meet society’s needs in related fields. The ministry said it will provide a total of 60 billion won to the selected institutions this year.

The aid-induced restructuring formula has drawn criticism that it is helping competitive universities both in Seoul and provincial areas receive government financial support in exchange for a voluntary cutback in their student quota, while nonviable universities are going all-out to subsist on tuition without drastically slashing enrollment quotas or closing their operations.

“Although the structural reform was made to kick out troubled universities and make strong universities more competitive, the current restructuring move rather allows reeling universities to survive without undergoing comprehensive restructuring,” Lee Ju-ho, a professor at the KDI School of Public Policy and Management, told The Korea Times.

The reform drive was initially designed to cope with a rapid demographic change that will bring about a significant reduction in the number of students due to the low birthrate.

The ministry expects the number of high school graduates to drop from 615,000 in 2013 to 549,000 in 2018 and 405,000 in 2023.

The total university enrollment quota now stands at 560,000. If it remains unchanged, the quota will overshoot the number of high school graduates by a big margin. That’s why the ministry has set the goal of curtailing it by 160,000 by 2023.

Against this backdrop, it will be hard for many shaky universities, especially located in provincial regions, to meet their student quotas. Thus it is inevitable for them to face downsizing or even closure.

Professor Lee called for the government to change direction in its university restructuring plan and support universities to take a leading role in cooperating with industry and the community so that they can nurture future leaders.

The government has also been under attack for intervening in the operation of higher education institutions by imposing the structural reform program on them. Some argue that the restructuring formula should be based on market principles.

However, it is necessary for the education authorities to spearhead university restructuring, considering that the education market has been unduly distorted and that no universities want painful reforms no matter how dire their situation.

“If the government takes a hands-off approach, the nation will face unpredictable consequences because university education is greatly challenged by rapid demographic changes and the rapidly changing education environment,” Baik Sung-gi, chair of the University Reformation Committee at the Ministry of Education, told The Korea Times.

He said that the government should be allowed to force colleges and universities to reduce their student quota because no institutions are willing to do so voluntarily.

Baik also called on all higher education institutions to reduce their enrollment quota more drastically regardless of their academic competitiveness and financial situation.

He stressed that the overall quota reduction is only a starting point for university structural reforms which are ultimately aimed at improving the quality of education and helping local universities advance in rankings of the world’s most-renowned institutions.

Voluntary closure of universities

On June 7, Hanlyo University in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, and Seonam University’s medical school in Namwon, North Jeolla Province, announced plans to shut down voluntarily.

The universities’ foundation is expected to present their plans to the education ministry soon. If the plans are approved, the two troubled universities will become the first institutions subject to closure under the Park administration.

The case can be compared to six universities and two vocational colleges which were shut down under the previous Lee Myung-bak government.

This indicates how difficult it is to make nonviable universities subject to closure. The education ministry’s stopgap measures are partly responsible for the doldrums in the restructuring of universities.

In this context, the ministry has sought to pass a government-initiated university structural reform bill through the National Assembly. The bill, if enacted, is expected to give the ministry more power to forcefully shut down nonviable institutions and speed up university restructuring.

However, the Assembly failed to approve the bill due to opposition parties’ objections to a controversial clause that would allow foundations of troubled private universities to retrieve part of their assets on closure of their universities.

Now the ministry is trying to present the bill again to the new Assembly which was formed following the April 13 general election.

Despite the opposition to the bill, Baik said, “We should provide an exit for the founders who established a university with educational aspirations but cannot run the school anymore due to the worsening educational environment.”

Experts said what’s most important is to create a national consensus over how to push for more comprehensive restructuring of universities. They pointed out that university reforms cannot produce successful results without such a consensus.