In the last 1979, our country reorganized primary-level college, junior school, high-level junior school and nursery school and promoted them into an integrated junior college, unifying all the short-term/high-level of educational institutes as one, o...
In the last 1979, our country reorganized primary-level college, junior school, high-level junior school and nursery school and promoted them into an integrated junior college, unifying all the short-term/high-level of educational institutes as one, on the basis of the number of 78,455 students for admission in 127 colleges. Since that time, colleges have grown rapidly in quality as well as in quantity, and currently, the number of colleges totals 158 in our nation, and among them, national colleges are 6, public one is 8, private one is 144, and the number of undergraduates amounts to 853,089. In Chungbuk district, there are 6 colleges in all, 1 national college, 1 public college and 4 private colleges. A total of undergraduates number 29,095.
Colleges have shouldered the responsibility of producing and providing able vocational personnels, who are the backbone for industry. and along with this, they have met the demand faithfully for the overall national economy called reeducation, and the cultivation of personnels for professionalization, specialization required for national economic development and enhancement of technology. As a result, the professional technicians who have been produced from colleges have all become the spearheads of Korea economy.
But with the changes erupted in all fields of industry, colleges have been under the pressure of being changed. The first thing to do to surmount this difficulty is to cultivate the capacity to cope swiftly with the changes in all the industrial sectors and to secure the financial stability necessary for the high level of education. As of 2005, the 90% of colleges in our country are private ones, which are exposed vulnerable to finance. It is the status quo that the tuition fee per capita in private colleges is no more than half of that in national colleges. If colleges are to carry out their original purpose to produce professionals, the subsidy by government is urgently needed. But in 1994, the educational authority introduced the "The principle of criteria for the establishment of school," on the basis of free economy market principle and granted its establishment if the requirement was to be met, which brought about the sharp increase in the number of colleges. Thus, at the critical moment of 2002, the adverse phenomenon happened that the number of third grade high school students fell short of the admission quantum of colleges, which led to the deterioration of finance of colleges. The decrease of the number of students in local private colleges depending heavily on students' tuition fee links directly to the aggravation of finance in colleges. The biggest problem derived from the insufficiency of educational finance is that the low rate of securing professor increases the number of student which a professor should take charge of, the experimental equipment becomes superannuated, or out of date, and students can't take the proper technical education required for industrial field, while lowering students' competitiveness.
In Chungbuk district, there are a total of 6 colleges of Geukdong information college, Daewon science college, Juseong college, Cheongju science college, Chungbuk science college, Chungcheong college. Among them, Cheongju science college is a national one, Chungbuk science college is a public one, and the rest of colleges like Geukdong information college, Daewon science college, Juseong college, and Chungcheong college are private ones. As of 2005, the number of students for admission in Chungbuk district accounts for the 2.5 % of total students in our country, and only compared with private colleges, it comes to 2.8%. It is found out that financial structure of private colleges in Chungbuk district is standardized as being composed of both the revenue system which depends on the student burdened money and transferred donation, and of the expenditure system, whose priority is chiefly given to labor cost, management & operation, study and students.
Making a comparison of private colleges in our country with those of neighboring Japan, which relies heavily on the system and actual affairs of private colleges, Japanese private colleges account for 87.5%, and government subsidy amounts to about 50%, and budget distribution almost nears the equalitarianism. On the other hand, our government adopts the competitive budget distribution system, and government subsidy to colleges is merely about 0.86% as of 2005. The private colleges in our district, whose distribution ratio is 67%, and its dependency ratio on students' tuition fee is 70%, have produced the able technicians for industry under the poor educational condition. Moreover, because of the adoption of differentiated distribution system by competition, some colleges' educational environments are getting worse and worse, Thus, given the circumstances that colleges in our country have sustainingly played a major role in cultivating professionals, reeducating the older generation and contributing to the development of local industry, it is advised to share the due educational finance for competitive students in private colleges, as in the Japanese example(in case of private short-term college, the 50% of budget is subsidized by government).
The problem in financial structure of private college in Chungbuk district is, firstly, the ineffective management stemmed from the untransparency of financial structure, on account of the extravagant financial management, and closure of its system. Second is the vocational high school students' deviation, and the meager creation of demand due to the weak linkage with industrial sectors. Third is the poorness of supporting system owing to the lack of social donation system, the beneficiary oriented allotment system, and the meagerness of corporation transferred money.
As the way of expanding the educational finance in private colleges in Chungbuk districts, first thing to do is restructuring, and enhancement of financial capability through strengthening the transparency of information on finance. If the finance in college is to heighten the effectiveness, colleges firstly have to manage the organization without redundancy, making the effective use of resources fully. For this, the organization has to be slimed, flat, and unnecessary activities and overlapping sectors also have to be redressed so that it can achieve high effectiveness with low cost.
Secondly, the cultivation of qualified professionals through differentiation, the creation of demand through reeducation of general publics, and the creation of demand through strengthening the cooperation and collaboration with industry should also be made. Along with the linkage to the differentiated local industry. college have to make an alliance with vocational high school and municipal governing body. And through that relationship, colleges have to select the able personnels and give them a prior education required for industrial fields, with the provision of one step system which enables college graduates to be immediately put into the industrial fields without any reeducation. Thus, colleges can have to enjoy the effect of synergy which enhances the competitiveness for local communities as well as colleges through the expansion of opportunity for college graduates to be employed in the local industry.
Thirdly, for the development of colleges, government should prepare the plan for the expansion of subsidy, make an effort to expand the corporation transferred money, and, on the society part, it has to strengthen the subsidizing system for college, though various channels and ways by cultivating the matured donation culture. The critical situation which private colleges in Chungbuk district face is held responsible for the insufficient finance as colleges in other districts do. In spite of anticipating the financial pressure ahead, due to the decrease of the number of students, most colleges can't prepare for any steps for it. According to Sungkyungwan University, which invited Samsung corporation, a world super and top class corporation, "The corporation transferred money(711 billion won), which is the largest amount among colleges in our country, could basically make it possible to set a goal and promote it," it says. The colleges in Chungbuk district must prepare for the corner stone to enhance the quality of college education, by learning the lesson from Sungkyungwan University.
The current situation colleges in Chungbuk face is described as a crisis. But as year goes by, it is apprehended that more and more aggravated situation will be unfolded than now. So all the members in private colleges in Chungbuk district should exactly be aware of the present situation and heighten the financial capability through effective management, along with the self-rescue effort.
And, with the creation of demand through the differentiated education to meet the original purpose of colleges, the vocational high school-college-industry
-municipality(including educational office) jointly have to select the programs for job seeking and cultivating professionals, and educate them. Colleges have to make the WIN-WIN strategy which enables the undergraduate at once to go to colleges and to get a job, and also corporation to secure the tailored personnels as well.
Lastly, for the development of colleges, government, college corporations, communities and their members in all should collect their wisdom and strengthen the system of subsidy through diverse channels and ways by arranging the subsidiary plan. On the ground of these, the private colleges in Chungbuk district should make a continuous effort to improve the educational condition, by making known the importance of colleges to general publics, while by letting them perceive the propriety of expansion of educational finance.