Declaration of 352 SNU Professors

The declaration on `the crisis of the basic studies,` by the professors of the humanities, social science, and natural science of Seoul National University, needs a serious consideration.

352 professors among all-436 professors of three departments declared, ``The idea and essence of the college education have been distorted by the current policies of college management, which emphasizes market principles. Consequently, the anxiety of the academic fields which have to be protected and nurtured by the government has dramatically increased.`` They urged the government and the university to pay more attention and actively support the fundamental studies.

The declaration is anticipated to create turbulence. The professors warned, if the president of SNU does not present reasonable resolutions, they will think about then whether they will remain at the university or not.

This rather unusual declaration in the college society is caused by the urgent pressure that the basic academic areas, such as literature, history, philosophy, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology, have faced the danger of desertion. They expressed their anxiety about the recent trends that value scholarship based on the popularism and short-term achievement. The professors argued that the unchangeable foundation, which defines the existence and the value of the university, is the indiscriminative research on human, society, and the nature.

This is not the problem of SNU only. The basic studies have been collapsing in many universities. Many students desert those basic fields of academia and some students, including those who have already chosen to study the basic fields, transfer their departments to other practical fields. Lots of related courses have been cancelled every semester. In these circumstances, the academic arrogance of the researchers of the basic fields have been hurt and their motivations also have been tremendously discouraged.

Instead, students are surging into so-called money making fields, which issue them certificates and licenses to help them to acquire better chances to get good jobs. This is a phenomenon which will deteriorate the ivory tower of academia to the level of professional schools for employment.

This unbalance among the academic disciplines is mainly caused by the current educational policies, which excessively encourage practical fields. Under the IMF management system, the government has emphasized `the new intelligence` and information industries under the rubric of national competitiveness. This tendency has been accelerated by the government`s BK 21 project, which confined the financial support to the schools that had adopted the college system. The new system, which allows students to choose their colleges rather than departments, has led students to avoid the unpopular basic studies.

The government and the university need to seriously consider promoting policies to improve the basic studies such as allotment of more research funds and attraction of more professors and students. Only on the basis of the basic studies, other applied academic fields can grow steadfastly and close interdisciplinary cooperation will revitalize the research and educational activity of the universities.