[Report] "I worked hard to get in... but a bolt from the blue" Inha University students sigh

52 General Universities Including Inha University and Sungshin Women's University
Fail to Receive Ministry of Education's General Financial Support
"How to Escape the Stigma of Poor Quality," "Unfair," Students Complain
Inha University States "Cannot Accept This Diagnosis Result"
"Will Recover Deficit Through Self-Help Efforts"

In front of the main gate of Yonghyeon Campus, Inha University, Incheon / Photo by Juhyung Lim skepped@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] "I didn't expect the decision of disqualification to be overturned. Still, honestly, I feel a great sense of unfairness."

On the morning of the 3rd, when the Ministry of Education finalized the results of the '2021 University Basic Competency Diagnosis' (Basic Competency Diagnosis), Kim (25), a student from the Department of Architecture at Inha University Yonghyeon Campus in Incheon, could not hide his disappointment.

Kim said, "Because of this decision, our university is about to be stigmatized as a 'poor-quality university.' Even if there are problems at Inha University, I don't think it deserves to be treated at that level," expressing his dissatisfaction by saying, "Isn't this too unfair?"

In the final confirmation of the Basic Competency Diagnosis announced by the Ministry of Education that day, 52 universities including Inha University and Sungshin Women's University were disqualified. Accordingly, these 52 universities will no longer receive general financial support.

Students are strongly protesting. They are demanding the detailed evaluation results be disclosed, saying they cannot accept the Ministry of Education's diagnosis results, and some expressed concerns about the possibility of their enrolled schools being branded as 'poor-quality universities.'

According to the Ministry of Education, 136 general universities including Seoul National University receive an average annual general financial support of 4.83 billion KRW from the government, and 97 vocational colleges receive an average of 3.75 billion KRW.

The Inha University campus, where non-face-to-face classes have been conducted for three days, was sparsely populated. / Photo by Juhyung Lim skepped@

However, the Ministry of Education and the Korea Educational Development Institute recently selected universities to restrict such financial support through deliberations by the University Structural Reform Committee. This evaluation was conducted by deducting points based on performance, educational conditions, class and curriculum operation, and checks for fraud and corruption.

Inha University, which was previously disqualified from financial support, raised objections, but the Ministry of Education ultimately did not accept them. Regarding this, Kim Kyuwon, Chair of the Structural Reform Committee, stated at a briefing held at the Government Sejong Complex on the morning of the 3rd, "We reaffirmed that the Basic Competency Diagnosis was conducted fairly and validly," and "The final results are the same as the previously announced preliminary results."

The disqualified universities will receive financial support through the University Innovation Support Project for three years from 2022 to 2024 and will undergo structural adjustments such as reducing student quotas to an appropriate scale.

However, students met at the university still could not hide their anxiety. Some feared the stigma of being a poor-quality university, while others expressed anger, saying they could not accept the evaluation results.

Notification of collection after the 'GwaJam protest' against the decision to exclude from general financial support universities. / Photo by Im Ju-hyung skepped@

Choi, a third-year student in the College of Engineering, whom we met in front of the student hall lounge, said, "The time to start job hunting is approaching, and this news was like a bolt from the blue," adding, "I worry that interviewers might look at my resume with prejudice later."

Another architecture student, who requested anonymity, said, "Honestly, Inha University is not a school lacking competitiveness like a real local poor-quality university. Although it is not at the level of a prestigious university, it has considerable competitiveness," and expressed frustration, "Isn't it natural to be unable to accept being suddenly disqualified from financial support without any clear reason?"

In online communities for enrolled students such as 'Everytime' and DC Inside's 'Inha University Gallery,' harsh anger continued. Some students posted self-deprecating comments like "Is Inha University ruined now?" and "I studied hard to get in, but now I'm suddenly a student of a poor-quality university," while others expressed anxiety, saying, "What if scholarships or convenience benefits suddenly decrease?"

On the morning of the 23rd of last month, students' department jumpers were hung on the seats of the main auditorium of Inha University in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, where the '2021 University Basic Competency Diagnosis Fair Review Urging Press Conference' was held. / Photo by Yonhap News

Inha University, which started the semester at the end of last month, is currently conducting most classes online due to social distancing measures amid the spread of COVID-19. Because of this, large gatherings on campus are not possible, but Inha University students expressed their anger through so-called 'university jumper protests.'

On the 21st of last month, Inha University students protested the Ministry of Education's decision by hanging their university jumpers on the main building and auditorium of the main campus. The protest continued until the 27th of the same month.

Inha University stated, "We will protest the unfairness of this evaluation." The university said, "Our Inha University has been verified through various objective quantitative indicators for excellent educational conditions and achievements, outstanding results in the University Innovation Support Project, and various evaluations such as the ACE+ project, which uses criteria almost identical to the Basic Competency Diagnosis," and added, "We absolutely cannot accept the final diagnosis results announced by the Ministry of Education today. We will continuously protest the unfairness of this evaluation."

However, "Separately, Inha University, which operates a budget of 450 billion KRW annually, will make efforts to compensate for the deficit caused by this result through self-help efforts and cooperation with the foundation, university members, the alumni association, and the local community," and emphasized, "In particular, by increasing investment in education, we will take full responsibility to ensure that there is no disruption to students' education."