Photo/Illutration Yasuda Auditorium of the University of Tokyo in 2021 (Masato Tsuchiya)

Nearly 70 percent of national university presidents feel their institutions have declined in terms of education and research in the 20 years since transitioning into independent bodies, an Asahi Shimbun showed.

The heads of all 86 national universities in Japan were asked in January and February about changes after they were given self-governing status in April 2004.

Initially directly run by the government, national universities became autonomous corporations with the aim of increasing competition and refining education and research activities.

Another objective was to slash nearly 120,000 civil servant jobs affiliated with these institutes.

Seventy-nine, or 92 percent, of the presidents answered the 35 questions, including a free comment section, in the survey.

One general question was: How do you think national universities have changed as tertiary educational organizations over the 20 years since they became corporations?

Twelve respondents, or 15 percent, believed their schools “have gone in a bad direction,” while 41, or 52 percent, said “somewhat in a bad direction.”

Only three, or 4 percent, of university heads said their schools “have gone in a good direction,” while 23, or 29 percent, said “somewhat in a good direction.”

Of the presidents with negative views, 52, or 98 percent, said the reduced state management subsidy has had a “significant impact.”

The state subsidy mechanism started after national universities’ transition into corporations. The funds can be used to cover a wide variety of costs, including for personnel, fuel lighting, as well as education and research.

A total of 1.1 trillion yen ($7.24 billion) is currently distributed to the university operators, and the amounts differ from school to school.

That sum was cut by 147 billion yen as part of administrative and financial reform from fiscal 2004 through fiscal 2015.

Instead, the government has expanded the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research and other initiatives, with an eye toward offering more funds particularly to competitive academics who pass specialized screenings.

“I feel a sense of crisis as the shrinking subsidy program has led to excessive competition, undermining the system to stably support universities’ foundation over the medium- to long-term,” wrote Shinshu University President Soichiro Nakamura.

Many university presidents expressed concerns about the unstable employment of teaching staff and the reduction of “basic education and research funds distributed by schools to faculty members.”

The government and the business community expect national universities to bring about innovations as they constitute a key element for Japan’s economic recovery.

But academic capabilities have declined during the period. Japan dropped to 13th place from fourth among countries for the number of research papers cited in the top 10 percent in respective fields.

On a brighter note, more than 80 percent of university presidents said the corporation status has helped the schools contribute to and cooperate in battling problems with depopulation, the graying of society and other local challenges.

Encouraged by the Central Council for Education to heighten support for students through their schools’ independence, 70 percent of national university leaders said they have improved programs concerning mental care and employment assistance for their students.

(This article was written by Chika Yamamoto and Fumio Masutani.)

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