National universities that missed out on large-scale funding initiative question selection process

While three national universities — Pusan National University, Chonnam National University and Chungnam National University — have been selected to receive billions of won of government funding under a new Education Ministry plan, other schools that missed out on the windfall are demanding to know why.

The presidents of all six flagship national universities that were not selected for the new program plan to meet Thursday to discuss the issue, the JoongAng Ilbo reported Wednesday.

“The presidents of national and public universities had already been scheduled to meet in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang, on Thursday, and the presidents of the six universities that were not selected by the Ministry of Education have decided to hold a separate meeting of their own,” a representative from a flagship national university told the JoongAng Ilbo.

The six universities are: Kangwon National University, Gyeongsang National University, Kyungpook National University, Jeonbuk National University, Jeju National University and Chungbuk National University.

“The universities that were not selected share the view that there were procedural problems with the Education Ministry's selection process,” a representative from another national university said. The meeting, however, is expected to focus on asking the ministry to review the decision rather than mounting a strong protest, as the universities will continue to rely on government funding.

The criticism follows the three flagship national universities being selected Tuesday for a government funding package to support education in regional strategic industries and AI. Each school is set to receive around 70 billion won ($51.4 million) per year through 2030. The funding is part of the ministry's “10 SNUs” plan, in which it seeks to raise the level of nine flagship national universities nearer to that of Seoul National University (SNU), which is widely viewed and rated as Korea's top institution of higher learning. By investing in the competitiveness of national universities in other parts of the country, the government also hopes to foster talent for each region's strategic industries and promote balanced regional development.

But the six flagship national universities that were not selected say the difference in support over the five-year funding period could create significant disparities in learning environments and research capabilities, and wish to get a clearer answer as to why they failed to be selected.

Including the 20 billion won to 30 billion won in government funding for undergraduate education reform — given to all flagship national universities except SNU — the three selected universities are set to receive around 100 billion won in additional funding this year.

Kyungpook National University's faculty council also demanded an explanation, urging the Education Ministry to “transparently disclose the selection process and evaluation results” in a statement Wednesday.

“The Education Ministry needs to provide an explanation that university members and the local community can accept as to what criteria were used in the evaluation, including educational and research capabilities and ties to regional industries,” the faculty council said.

The council plans to hold a meeting of its executives Thursday to discuss its next steps.

While making the major funding announcement, the ministry did not give a clear answer as to whether more flagship national universities would receive similar large-scale funding under the 10 SNUs plan. Participants in Thursday's meeting may also call for some of the six universities to be added to the funding program through a supplementary budget.

“Rather than simply saying we will add a certain number of universities [to the funding], we need to consider factors including how prepared the universities and their regions are, the progress of growth engines and the government's megaprojects, and the views of the nine participating ministries and other relevant government agencies,” Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin said Tuesday. “Whether to provide additional support, including its scale, could be discussed during the National Assembly's deliberations on the government's budget proposal.”

Was the 'big three' decided in advance?

Officials at universities that were not selected have questioned the Education Ministry's selection and evaluation process.

“An Education Ministry document outlining the selection plan in June used the terms 'southern maritime and energy' and 'central science,' and there were rumors that [the former] referred to Pusan National University and Chonnam National University and [the latter] to Chungnam National University,” a source from a national university said. Pusan National University is in Busan and Chonnam National University in South Jeolla, both in southern Korea, while Chungnam National University is in Daejeon, in the central part of the country.

“If the universities had already been decided, I don't understand why they went through an open application process,” the source added.

In explaining the selection process Tuesday, the Education Ministry said it plans to develop Pusan National University and Chonnam National University as key hubs for the maritime and energy industries in the southern region, and Chungnam National University as a leading hub for science in the central region.

“The universities received high marks for their connections with regional strategic industries, plans to innovate and potential impact across their respective regions,” an Education Ministry official said.

Some said they did not have sufficient opportunity to explain their plans.

“Even for an Education Ministry project worth 1 billion won, we had an opportunity to give a two-hour presentation in person about what we would do with the funding, but there was no such opportunity this time,” a professor at a national university that was not selected said.

A professor at another university that was not selected called for the ministry to disclose the evaluation results and scores for each criterion, saying that universities “had been told the results would be announced in late September, but the three universities were suddenly selected without prior notice.”

Surprise announcement fuels fairness concerns

Politicians have also joined the criticism.

People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Lee In-seon, who represents Daegu's Suseong B constituency and serves on the National Assembly's Education Committee, claimed the selection was unfair and that politics played a role in the decision.

“It has been confirmed that Kyungpook National University and Pusan National University received B grades, Chonnam National University a C and Chungnam National University a D for the Glocal University 30 selection process,” Rep. Lee said in a press release Tuesday, referring to a past government project that offered funding to universities outside greater Seoul.

“It is difficult to understand why universities that received C and D grades, lower than Kyungpook National University, were selected for the recent funding,” Rep. Lee added.

The lawmaker vowed to “thoroughly scrutinize how the 70 billion won in annual funding for each university is spent and ensure that any unspent funds go to the six national universities that were not selected this time.”

The North Jeolla chapter of the PPP also voiced concern Wednesday over the exclusion of Jeonbuk National University, the province's flagship national university.

“Jeonbuk National University did not secure a place in a major government-funded program that could shape North Jeolla's future by supporting emerging industries and research and nurturing young talent,” the party chapter said. “Why does North Jeolla keep losing out on opportunities its residents deserve?”

The Union of Korean National University Professors also criticized the decision.

“Selecting three universities is likely to create and entrench a new hierarchy not only among flagship national universities but across all national universities,” the union said in a statement on Wednesday. “Universities that were not selected could be stigmatized as 'failed universities,' regardless of their actual educational and research capabilities.”

BY KIM MIN-SANG [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]