Tokyo

Japan's education ministry last week approved the government's plan to turn national universities into ‘agencies’ with greater administrative independence, provided that they are allowed to continue to give priority to education and research.

The move would add Japan's 99 national universities to a list of government-run institutions, including museums and national research institutes, that are to be transformed into semiautonomous agencies. The plans are part of the government's bid to increase administrative efficiency by placing the institutions under the control of a separate management system (see Nature 389, 897; 1997).

Rather than complying with the government's agency bill, which sets targets based on its rationalization plan, the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (Monbusho) is asking for a separate bill for universities to maintain the standard of research and education.

According to the proposed bill, performance-related targets would be reviewed every five years, instead of on the shorter, three- to five-year timescale suggested in the agency bill, and the evaluation be carried out by an independent assessment body that Monbusho plans to set up next April (see Nature 400, 704; 1999).

The proposed bill also promises that some policy decisions, such as the selection of performance-related targets and the appointment of university deans, would reflect the universities' opinions.

Monbusho also insists that university staff should retain their civil-service status, despite pressure from the government to reduce the number of civil servants. The government hoped to reduce Japan's civil servants by 25 per cent in ten years by giving agency status to national universities, which have more than 125,000 staff.

Akito Arima, the education minister, said last week at a meeting of deans of national universities that university reform should be separated from the government's aim to cut central-government employees. “The main aim of the reform is to give the universities more freedom and autonomy, and to enhance their level of education and research,” said Arima.

But Monbusho's proposed bill has been criticized by members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and government ministries as being too easy on universities. Many expect it to face strong opposition before its final approval next April.