Japan Press Weekly

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2018 January 24 - 30 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

National university association head: Abe’s new education policy will ‘interfere in university autonomy’

The president of the Japan Association of National Universities (JANU) on January 26 criticized the Abe government’s plan to set requirements on universities to be eligible for the government’s free higher education policy as a tactic to undermine university autonomy.

The Abe Cabinet approved the tuition-free university policy last year. Abe with this policy requires that as preconditions, universities should choose more than 20% of their board members from the business world and that more than 10% of the graduation requirement credits should be taught by teachers with a business background.

After the decision by the Cabinet, high school teachers, college staff, and other persons concerned voiced dissent, saying that the policy will strengthen the business industry’s influence over academia.

JANU head Yamagiwa Juichi, who is the Kyoto University president, at a press conference after the association’s general meeting on January 26 said that requiring universities to meet government-set criteria before being included in the free higher education program would damage university independence.