A proposal to revise the approval criteria of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's notification, which prohibits universities with faculties whose number of students is less than 5% of the enrollment capacity from being allowed to establish new faculties or increase the number of students, has been solicited for public comment. In anticipation of the decline in the 18-year-old population, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology plans to introduce restrictions on universities that do not meet the quota for the first time from October.
According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the regulation will apply if even one of the established faculties has less than 5% of its enrollment capacity.It is scheduled to come into effect on October 10, but a transitional measure will be established and will apply from the end of March 1 on applications for new faculties and increased quotas.Public comments are being accepted until September 2024th.
Until now, restrictions on new faculties and increased quotas have been applied when the quota is exceeded by 5% to 15%, depending on the size of the university.This regulation will be the first to introduce regulations to universities that are significantly underfilling their quotas. Due to the decline in the 18-year-old population, it seems that there is a decision to weed out unpopular universities and departments.
The population of 18-year-olds peaked at 1992 million in 205 and then started to decline, dropping to 2022 million in 112. By 2032, the population is expected to fall below the 100 million mark, and by 2040, it is expected to decrease to 88.As a result, universities that are unable to secure students are expected to face major problems in terms of their financial condition and educational environment.
