Dispute over first veterinary school in half a century

Heated debate – both political and academic – over the establishment of a new veterinary school in Japan after a lacuna of 52 years has highlighted the excruciating challenges that face the country in its push to reform higher education.

On 14 November, Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi approved a plan by Kake Educational Institution to establish a veterinary medicine department as part of Okayama University of Science.

The veterinary school will be in Imabari, a local municipality in Ehime prefecture, located on Shikoku island. Its founder, Kake Educational Institution, offers educational services and establishes and operates three universities in the region as well as colleges and schools.

The move sparked an uproar among established veterinary schools that have long condemned the plan, denouncing it as a waste of public funds that reeks of political cronyism.

But the education ministry has vehemently denied these claims and has insisted that correct procedures were followed and its decision was based on the recommendations of an independent committee.

The new veterinary school

Despite the controversy, experts agree that approval for the new veterinary school in Imabari is a breakthrough regarding Japan’s strict regulation policy, particularly covering medical, veterinary and dental higher education.

The school will begin its first academic year for the six-year degree in April 2018. Twenty percent of new applications will be reserved for foreign students.

The faculty plans to have an international standard curriculum and 75 professors – a number higher than its long-established counterparts, which have between 26 and 58 professors.

Japan currently has 16 veterinary universities registering some 930 new students each year, with some 5,580 students in total nationally who are undergoing the six-year programmes. They include 10 national, one state and five private universities.

Arguments for

Proponents of the new department say the move is long overdue and an important step to improve Japan’s veterinary sciences, which lag behind Western standards. Imabari will also boost the number of veterinarians in the fields of livestock, life sciences and public hygiene, which play an important role in medical and bio-medical technology development.

“The new university opens the door to expanding the scope of veterinary science graduates. The school represents the deregulatory measures that have been launched by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,” said Professor Hideaki Karaki, head of the Foodservice Industry Research Institute.

The retired professor taught veterinary science at the national University of Tokyo, Japan’s top higher education institution. He is a leading advocate of the new school in Imabari and rejects the political interference argument as speculative.

According to experts, a major drawback in Japanese universities is a lack of focus on practical training for graduates. One result is that half of Japan’s practising vets are employed in pet clinics, which is where they earn a lucrative income.

A positive sign has been media reports that Ehime University, also in the Ehime prefecture, has begun preparations to link its veterinary department to the new veterinary school in Imabari.

Arguments against

Academics such as Professor Mutsumi Inaba of Hokkaido University’s faculty of veterinary medicine are supportive of reforms but promote the use of government funds for existing institutions as a more effective system to meet demand.

A six-year government subsidy for Japan’s veterinary school development is ending in 2018.

“New institutions are not the answer given that Japan is stretched for top veterinary academia. We need to improve the current education by new training and curriculum development focusing on the expertise of current institutions,” explained Inaba.

Indeed, the much-touted school in Imabari has opened with a tarnished image. The head of its founding institution, Kake Educational Institution, is a close friend of the prime minister.

Opposition political parties have raised the connection as a case of ‘favouritism’ and turned a spotlight on lack of transparency in the registration process, with the media reporting a lack of official documentation. The prime minister denies the accusation.

These issues were thrashed out at a political level last week at a hearing of the education, culture, sports, science and technology committee in the House of Representatives. Local media reported a lack of proof presented to back up the allegations of impropriety.

The development perspective

The new school is located on land donated by the Imabari municipality and its new facilities are supported by a subsidy of JPY9.6 billion (US$85 million) from Kake Educational Institution, the Ehime prefectural budget and government funds under its National Strategic Special Zones policy, aimed at revitalising Japan’s sluggish rural economy.

Inaba said the process showed Abe’s priority for economic development over the merits of promoting an academic-based programme for higher education reform.

However, experts also point out that Japan’s university administration is based on deep political ties, either through founders who have been former politicians or bureaucratic relations for gaining public subsidies.

Professor Shunsuke Abe at the veterinary science department at Ehime University welcomed the new university as a vital step to open up the field of veterinary science.

“The political focus on Prime Minister Abe’s connection with Kake Educational Institution is not constructive for much needed reforms in the higher education system. The reality is that universities are steeped in political influence that affects their funding and policy. Changing that is going to take a very long time,” he said.

The academic is also supportive of the Imabari school as a means to nurture global competition among Japanese universities.