University head urges universities to 'wake up'

The head of one of South Korea's most prestigious universities has warned Korean universities of their demise as early as 2018 unless they wake up and break free from the hackneyed educational methods used for decades, writes Ko Dong-hwan for The Korea Times.

Pohang University of Science and Technology President Kim Doh-yeon told Maeil Business Newspaper: "Students still learn courses with the same titles in the same learning methods from 40 years ago … Innovation being their only way to survive, universities must transform themselves completely from their status quo."

Pointing out that there would be a drastic reduction in the number of students in 2018 due to the aging population, he said South Korea would have 10,000 fewer students than existing universities could afford. "At this pace, half of South Korean universities should be shut down in seven to eight years," he said.
Full report on The Korea Times site