University officials warn of “a crisis here and now” at the progressively impoverished national universities: “They want us to donate from our retirement funds…

Why are universities in financial difficulty…

It has been a long time since we heard of “university poverty.”

Last year, the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music made headlines for removing and selling the pianos in its practice rooms due to soaring utility costs. The national university where my daughter attended frequently received requests for donations for the parents of students, and the national university from which I graduated had a private vocational school on its premises before I knew it.

Upon further investigation, it appears that national universities have been able to lease land since FY2006 due to deregulation, and various universities such as the University of Tokyo, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Nagasaki University, Kyushu University, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology have been promoting various ways to utilize the land, such as parking lots, offices, and senior citizen homes. While this sounds good, it probably means that they are in such financial difficulty that they are forced to rely on rent income.

It is true that the birthrate is declining and getting worse. However, tuition at national universities is now over 600,000 yen per year, whereas it was around 400,000 yen per year when I was a university student in the early 1990s. With wages not rising at all and tuition at national universities continuing to rise, why are universities in financial difficulty?

When we asked the “University Forum,” which seeks ways to overcome the crisis facing universities and takes action, to conduct an interview, Professor A of the University of Tokyo, Associate Professor B of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Associate Professor C of Tottori University, and Administrative Staff D of a national university in Tokyo responded to our request. What they told us was a story of a disturbing future in which everyone could be involved, whether they went to college or not, whether they had children or not.

Even retiring teachers are asked to donate from their retirement funds…

The request to donate is not only to the parents of the students, but also to us faculty members who receive salaries from the university.

Donations are used to pay for university facilities, student scholarships, international student support, etc. I agree with the purpose of the donation, and I donate to the university.

But that is what European universities, for example, are doing through the European Social Fund of the European Union, so why do they rely on donations?　I think it is a good idea. Moreover, if they are paid enough to donate, it is because the budget of the entire university is being cut,” said Professor A. “I don’t know if the retiring professors also receive severance pay, but they do.

Professor A said, “Even though we give severance pay to retiring professors, they ask us to donate from our severance pay. Some people donate 100,000 yen or 1,000,000 yen, and their name plates are put on the wall.

Grants being reduced every year

It is not uncommon for the retirement allowance itself to be about 5 million yen less than it used to be. There have been cases of people who were planning to pay off the mortgage on their own homes with their retirement benefits, but ended up selling their homes.

Since when and why are universities becoming poorer?