Number of Students per One Professor in Universities Steadily Increases

This tendency grows stronger in local universities. As for local public universities, the number of students per one professor increased up to 35 this year from 32 in 1998. As for local private universities, the number of students per one professor increased up to 59 in last year from 47 in 1998.

Increasing number of students per one professor is caused by that even though the local universities accept more new students with the intention of enlarging the size of the universities, they usually hire part-time lecturers instead of hiring full time.

During the period from 1998 to 2002, students of the national or public universities in metropolitan area increased by 6.9% while professors increased by 2.5%. As for the local national and public universities, students and professors increased by 12.0% and 4.0% respectively. And as for the local private universities, students and professors increased by 16.1% and 4.7% respectively for the same period.

As for the full-time professors and part-time professors, the number was 40,194 and 40,154 respectively in 1998, which each portion occupies the half. However, last year the number of full-time professors were 40,418 (46.2%) and part-time lecturers 51,225 (53.8%). As such, the rate of part-time lecturers increased more.

Ph. D Lee Man-hee in Korean Educational Development Institute pointed out, “As educational environment of local universities becomes worse compare with that of the universities in metropolitan area, the number of new students who enter local universities is seriously decreasing. And this greatly affects even the survival of those local universities.”

Seong-Chul Hong sungchul@donga.com