Yoo Eun-hye "Many Opinions to Reduce or Eliminate Metropolitan University Admissions Beyond Quota"
Plans to Establish University Management Measures and Higher Education Innovation Strategy by End of May
Regional Universities Unite in Calling for "Nationwide Admission Quota Adjustment"
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye is giving a greeting at the '1st Main Collective Bargaining (Introduction Meeting) between the Ministry of Education and the National Public University Professors' Labor Union' held on the 6th at the President Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye announced that she is considering reducing the enrollment quotas of universities in the Seoul metropolitan area in response to the difficulty of filling freshman spots at regional universities.
On the 6th, Deputy Prime Minister Yoo stated at the National Assembly Education Committee's public hearing on "Overcoming the Crisis in Higher Education and Preparing Measures to Expand Financial Resources," "We are devising plans from the perspective that an appropriate reduction in enrollment quotas at metropolitan universities is necessary."
Yoo said, "The enrollment rate is dropping first at regional private universities, and many believe that students who would have gone to regional universities are instead entering metropolitan universities through special admissions outside the quota, which should be reduced or eliminated. We need to establish policies on how to reduce the enrollment quotas of metropolitan universities, including special admissions outside the quota and transfer student ratios."
She added, "We are preparing to concretize the systematic management plan for universities and the direction for promoting higher education innovation strategies by the end of May, and we will consult with the National Assembly to resolve financial issues."
Universities attending the hearing also voiced difficulties due to the decline in student numbers, arguing for the abolition of special admissions outside the quota and the need to reduce overall university enrollment quotas.
Jung Daehwa, president of Sangji University, said, "To prevent the disappearance of regional universities due to the declining school-age population, enrollment quotas nationwide must be readjusted. Special admissions outside the quota should be abolished, and transfers minimized, but state support is necessary to cover the resulting financial deficits."
Woo Dong-gi, president of Daegu Catholic University, also said, "Simply stopping special admissions outside the quota can delay the problem of under-enrollment at regional universities by several years, giving us room to address the long-term decline in the school-age population."
Choi Il, president of Dongshin University, pointed out that this year’s university admission quota is about 492,000, which is 78,300 more than the number of students who can actually enter university (414,000).
President Choi said, "The current third graders in middle school, who will enter university in three years, will number 108,450 fewer, and in 15 years, by 2037, the number will decrease by 157,000. If the policy direction for higher education does not change, regional universities will disappear."
Yoon Yeo-song, president of Induk University, said, "Among 133 junior colleges, only 24 filled 100% of their quotas this year, and the overall student enrollment rate plummeted from 94.3% last year to 84.4% this year. The crisis in junior colleges is a state of despair."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
