Ex-ministry officials assigned jobs in 23 national colleges

With national universities becoming "independent administrative institutions" in April, a large number of former senior education ministry officials, including former vice-ministers, have taken managerial positions at these universities.

On March 31, Japanese Communist Party Vice-Chair Ishii Ikuko at a House of Representative committee meeting criticized this as creating cozy ties between bureaucrats and colleges.

Boards of trustees, boards of supervisors, and management councils were established to give them a huge amount of influence concerning the operations of these corporate universities.

Former education ministry officials obtained managerial posts at 23 universities, and 27 out of all the trustees and supervisors are those who came from the education ministry.

Ishii pointed out that this is because the government wants to make the universities instruments of state power, and demanded that the government not interfere in the autonomy of universities. (end)