Regarding the Maintenance and Improvement of Educational and Research Standards at National Universities in the Shikoku Region (Joint Statement)
Release Date:
November 30, 2009
Regarding the Maintenance and Improvement of Educational and Research Standards at National Universities in the Shikoku Region (Joint Statement)
President of Tokushima University: Toshihiro Aono
Kei Takahashi, President of Naruto University of Education
President of Kagawa University: Mahiko Ichii
President of Ehime University: Yasunobu Yanagisawa
President of Kochi University: Yusuke Sagara
National universities in the Shikoku region are actively promoting world-class educational and research activities, while also engaging in initiatives that leverage the region’s unique characteristics and address the needs of local businesses and residents.
Recently, the “Project Review” Working Group of the Administrative Reform Council concluded that various projects and expenses related to the promotion of science and technology, as well as university education and research, should be “abolished” or have their “budget requests reduced.”
At each university, the annual 1% reduction in the Operating Grant—which constitutes the core funding for national universities—has already had a significant impact on education, research, and medical care. However, the various expenses and projects brought up for review in this “project screening”are indispensable for maintaining and improving educational and research standards, promoting distinctive educational and research activities, and contributing to the local community. Their abolition or reduction will lead to a decline in educational and research standards and the collapse of the educational and research infrastructure at national universities in the Shikoku region—where the foundation for education and research is particularly fragile—and will result in the loss of opportunities to receive excellent higher education in rural areas.Furthermore, the decline in university functions will lead to a reduction in contributions to the region, which in turn will have a negative impact on the revitalization of the regional economy and the improvement of residents’ livelihoods.
To ensure access to high-quality higher education in the Shikoku region, maintain and improve educational and research standards, and nurture and promote distinctive educational and research initiatives, we strongly request that public investment in universities be secured and expanded in the FY2010 budget as outlined below.
Record
① Cuts to university budgets will undermine the foundation of higher education institutions in the Shikoku region, distinctive education and research originating from Shikoku, and regional development.
The national universities in the Shikoku region have strived to serve as the cornerstone of regional development through world-class educational and research activities in diverse fields, including ensuring excellent higher education opportunities, promoting distinctive education and research, enhancing regional medical care, and fostering joint research with local businesses and other entities.
In response to the annual reductions in the National University Corporation Operating Grant—which serves as the foundational funding for these initiatives—each university has sought to cut education and research expenses and optimize staffing through management efforts. However, if this policy of cuts continues, the operational foundation of the universities will collapse, likely leading to a decline in the standards of education and research across all fields, as well as in student support.This will also have a significant impact on the cultivation and retention of capable faculty members expected by the region, the development of outstanding talent active in government, business, and medical settings, the provision of advanced and cutting-edge medical care to local residents, and the application of research results to benefit local businesses.
We strongly urge the government to abolish the current policy of cuts and expand the budget for the National University Corporation Operating Grant—which serves as the foundation for educational and research activities and university management—so that each national university can strive to create cutting-edge, distinctive, and attractive educational and research environments.
② It is necessary to expand competitive funding (such as Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Global COE, and GP Projects)
Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Global COE, GP Projects, Academic International Exchange Programs, and other competitive funding sources, alongside operational grants, serve as a vital pillar of educational and research resources that enable national universities to advance cutting-edge and distinctive initiatives.
The recent “program review” resulted in recommendations for the integration and rationalization of various systems, as well as reductions in budget requests; however, this outcome is particularly problematic for regional national universities,
・Falling behind at the starting line in the race for competitive funding
・Stagnation in the promotion of distinctive educational and research initiatives
・The decline of pioneering educational reform initiatives that are essential to the university, funded by GP grants
・With regard to the unique university education and student support initiatives currently underway, it is difficult to maintain the systems that have been established to date and the organizational efforts that are beginning to gain momentum
・Difficulty in securing outstanding researchers due to a decline in educational and research activities among researchers—particularly early-career researchers—and a diminishing appeal of the educational and research environment
・Stagnation in the internationalization of not only universities but the entire region
・Core research achievements are essential for conducting joint research with industry; if competitive funding from the government were to be significantly reduced, this would affect not only faculty research but also student education through research, joint research projects, and contract research, thereby impacting the supply of talent to the region and the dissemination of research outcomes.
It also causes difficulties.
For this reason, we ask that you make every effort to adjust various competitive funding programs to make them more flexible, and we request an increase in the relevant budget.
③ The abolition of projects related to regional science and technology promotion and industry-academia-government collaboration will undermine such collaboration in the region.
Although the evaluation results of the “project review” have recommended the abolition of all related projects, the targeted initiatives—the “Intellectual Cluster Creation Project,” the “Urban Area Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration Promotion Project,” and the “Comprehensive Support Project for Regional Innovation Creation”—are efforts to promote joint research with researchers from universities and local companies, and to return the results of basic research from universities to the region.As universities in Shikoku rooted in the region, we believe that the abolition of these projects will result in the loss of tools for regional collaboration and is a matter of grave concern for the revitalization of the regional economy.
Furthermore, the “Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration Strategy Implementation Project” is a program that enables universities to utilize individuals with private-sector experience and deep expertise by deploying industry-academia-government collaboration coordinators in local communities. The discontinuation of these projects will set back the industry-academia-government collaboration frameworks that have just begun to take shape in each region. Therefore, we strongly request that the minimum necessary expenses—such as those related to personnel costs—be maintained for research and various projects that are currently being planned and carried out within a specific timeframe.
(Note: The character "Yū" in the name of Yūsuke Sagara, President of Kochi University, is written with the "shi" radical followed by the character for "right.")