Student-professor ratio doubles since 1970

The quality of education at the nation`s colleges has deteriorated over the past 30 years as the number of students per professor last year was more than double the level in 1970, a professors` group said Thursday. According to statistics compiled by the National Professors Council for Democratization, the student-professor ratio stood at 18.8:1 in 1970 but increased to 27.9:1 in 1980, 31.2:1 in 1990 and 39.7:1 in 2000.

The figure is three times the ratio of 14.8 students per professor among member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The situation is little different in junior colleges. The student-professor ratio grew from 20.5:1 in 1970 to 30.1:1 in 1980, 43.9:1 in 1990 and 78:1 in 2000. The group said the figures reflect the fact that universities have been bent on boosting enrollment over the last three decades but have minimized the hiring of instructors.

``The statistics show why university professors cannot help but conduct teacher-led classes instead of relying on more student-friendly methods like discussions,`` said a group member. The situation also marks a sharp contrast to that in elementary and middle schools, where the student-teacher ratio was halved from 1970, and that in high schools where the ratio was lowered by one-third.

[Yonhap]