Competitive university funding dangerous

Operating subsidies provided by the central government to national universities are the key source of funding to run the schools. The subsidies pay personnel costs for the teachers and other staff, utilities and maintenance expenses for facilities, and expenses related to research labs.

The Finance Ministry and expert government panels, including the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, are increasingly demanding the current subsidy allocation formula based on the size and capacity of a school be changed to a result-based one, based on evaluation of each university's commitment to research and educational activities.

Such an idea is questionable. Is it necessary to introduce competitive principles primarily designed for fiscal discipline into the allocation of state subsidies to universities?
Many officials at national universities should have been shocked by the estimates unveiled recently by the Finance Ministry.

If the operating subsidies were reallocated in line with subsidies allocated for key scientific research projects on the basis of research activities and actual results, 74 out of 87 national universities would see their subsidies reduced.

Hardest-hit would be Hyogo University of Teacher Education, which would see its subsidies cut by 90.5 percent. According to the estimates, nine of the hardest-hit universities would be those specializing in teacher training.

Meanwhile, most national universities in regional areas would see their subsidies cut. Only 13 schools would come out on the winning side, including former imperial universities such as Tokyo University and Kyoto University, which would see their subsidies doubled.
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Inefficiency worrisome


The possible deterioration in the management of universities specializing in teacher training and those in regional areas, which are supposed to serve as regional intellectual centers, is cause for concern.

Due to the declining birthrate, national universities have also been hit by a wave of reorganization and integration. While it is understandable for national universities to reorganize or integrate themselves to maintain and improve their educational standards, the economic rationalization of state universities may lower the quality of institutions for higher education as a whole.

Branches of learning, particularly the liberal arts and humanities, and pure sciences, the benefits of whose research are less obvious, will decline in the long run. In the future there will be little room for researchers to throw themselves into such embryonic research as that leading to a Nobel prize. What constitutes "results" and who would assess them and how are all unclear.

The introduction of competitive principles in the allocation of state subsidies to national universities is being championed by private-sector members of the council, with Finance Ministry officials and other related offices following suit.
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Taking sides


The Education, Science and Technology Ministry, worried about further reduction in state subsidies to universities, has sided with the universities which are intensifying their opposition to the result-based subsidies allocation plan. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has asked the Education Rebuilding Council, which is under his direct control, to summarize the results of relevant discussions.

In proportion to the gross domestic product, government fiscal assistance to institutions of higher education in Japan remains only half the average of industrially advanced nations.

In light of its tight fiscal situation, the government deems it difficult to increase outlays for higher education. Yet we hope the education council can come up with proposals to beef up the nation's universities.

Regional state universities also must make further reform efforts. It is essential for these universities to offer educational programs distinctive enough to attract students even from other prefectures, while developing their strengths in specific areas of study.

They must also emphasize their significance in terms of their contribution to regional economies and the development of human resources for local governments and other key entities.

These functions make it all the more necessary to ensure stability in operational subsidies for national universities. It is dangerous to hastily call for putting such funding on a result-oriented, competitive footing.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 28, 2007)
(May. 28, 2007)

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/editorial/20070528TDY04008.htm