Change Academia
PRESS
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情報ラジオ番組 JAM THE WORLD
『コロナで休学、中退増加、大学生の苦境』
2020年12月23日の放送で、学費問題をテーマにChange Academia代表が出演します。
なぜ？
Why?
現在の研究者の環境や人々の研究の機会、このままでよいといえるでしょうか？
Why do we have to question the current working environment and research opportunities for researchers in our society?
Q.なぜ研究者が必要？
Q. Why do we need researchers?
A.研究はみんなの社会のためにあるから
A. The research outcomes are to benefit everyone in society
そもそも、国内の多くの人々の生活が、徐々に苦しくなっている現状があります。研究者というのは、簡単に言えば専門家です。本来専門家でないと出来ない仕事を、非専門家がなんとなくやって大失敗しているこの国の滅茶苦茶な政策は、このままで良いのでしょうか？今現在専門家が歯を食いしばっているから、まだ大きな崩壊を免れています。研究者というのは「勉強好きが興じて物好きでいつまでも学校に行っている」というものではなく、むしろ「多くの人がやりたくないことや、市場経済の中では需要がなく儲からないことでも、長い将来を見据えた社会にとって大事なことをコツコツ研究している、その道に通じた専門家・辞書」のような存在です。研究者の研究環境と生活環境の水準を保障することは、みんなにとって必要な社会の基盤です。
When we look around in Japanese society, it is notable that many people’s living conditions are getting worse and worse in the past few decades. One of the fundamental causes of this situation is the lack of the recognition of expertise; many of our policies have been formulated by non-experts without essential knowledge or research skills. At this moment, our society is on the verge of collapse, barely surviving thanks to the hidden experts who are making enormous efforts. So, how can we make a difference? Who are the experts? Where are they?
Working at various academic institutions and all other places, researchers are the experts in their specialisation. Although they are often misunderstood that “staying at a university forever having fun of studying”, they are in fact, “the experts/living dictionaries researching topics which are not necessary economically rewording in a capitalist society but essential for society regarding the future and our well-being”. Therefore, respecting researchers in their fields and guaranteeing research and living environments are the essential investment for the social infrastructure which benefits everyone.
Q.研究は誰がやるべき？
Q. Who should do research?
A.研究はやりたい人がみんな機会をもてるべき
A. Everyone who wants to should have an opportunity
研究はみんなのためのものです。日本国憲法 第23条では学問の自由が保障されています。しかし現行の仕組みでは、家庭が豊かでないと大学や大学院に進学し研究を続けることは難しいです。まして研究者になるまでとても持ちません。現在の奨学金や助成金の制度は不十分であり、高い利子付きの奨学金や学生ローンの返済に追われている人は予想以上にたくさん存在します。ジェンダー、出身地、国籍、セクシャリティ、人種、年齢、障害など、様々な差別や、特権階級が再生産されていく仕組みによって生まれた知的な成果物のみを「人類」の知の遺産であると呼ぶのは極めて歪であると感ぜざるを得ません。また、本当は研究がしたいけどお金がないからアカデミアの社会の慣習にあわなかったからという理由で研究活動から離れてしまう人が出てくるのは社会にとっても大変な損失です。誰もが平等に研究の機会や動機を持てる社会の実現を目指すべきです。
Research is not for one but for all. In Japan, academic freedom is guaranteed by article 23 of the constitution. However, in reality, going to universities is not easy for those who cannot receive financial support from their families. Moreover, the opportunities to continue research in postgraduate schools and after completing a doctorate degree is further limited. The currently available scholarships, student loans and research grants have many limitations, and quite a few students are suffering from student loan debt.
In addition, academic freedom is not only limited by one’s financial background but also restricted by discriminations against gender, hometown, nationality, sexuality, race, age, disability etc. As a consequence, there has been a structure in academia which reproduces and reinforces the privileged classes. How can we call the outcome produced under such unequal system intellectual heritage of “human beings”? Furthermore, the condition that losing people from academia for reasons such as the lack of finance or being uncomfortable with the customs of the academic society despite their passion for conducting research is doing society a great disservice. We must, therefore, strive for a society where everyone can have equal opportunities to conduct research and to raise motivation.
Q.大学院生と博士取得者の現状はどう？
Q. What is the current condition of postgraduate students and doctorate holders like?
A.日本の大学院生や若手研究者は困窮またはアカデミアを離れている
A. Many postgraduate students and early career researchers are either in poverty or decided to leave academia.
貧困からでも努力すれば学者として食べていけるという話は今の時代にはありません。若手研究者や大学院生の実情はかなり困窮しています。
- 大学院(博士課程)の悲惨な待遇は生活保護や刑務所の懲役刑未満という話
- 文系の博士課程「進むと破滅」 ある女性研究者の自死：朝日新聞デジタル
- WEB特集 九州大学 ある“研究者”の死を追って _ NHKニュース
The current situation no longer allows postgraduate students or early career researchers to hope to make a living as a researcher in the future. No matter how much they keep working hard, the availability of tenure track positions (i.e. stable permanent position) is rather limited, and many researchers are in poverty and in shabby treatment.
Q.日本の大学院生の評価や実力は？
Q. What is the real ability of postgraduate students in Japan? How are they evaluated?
A.国内論文の4分の1の筆頭著者が大学院生だが借金を負わされる
A. Postgraduate students are quite productive that they produce 4/1 of research papers from Japan as the first author. However, many are not financially rewarded and suffering from student loan debt.
研究者は日本全国で85万人、院生は７万人。日本では、国内論文の4分の1の筆頭著者は大学院生であり、大学院生が研究者平均の３倍研究成果を出していることになります。なぜ給料が支払われないのでしょうか？大学院生は実質的に研究室の研究成果を生み出している主体であり、労働者であると認識されているのが日本以外の多くの国での大学院生に対する認識ですが、日本では依然としてそのような感覚が希薄です。そのため、労働者としての最低限の権利が当然のように保障されない現状が続いています。また、ジェンダーや出自による差別や機会不平等の問題も深刻です。
出典：科学における知識生産プロセスの研究－日本の研究者を対象とした大規模調査からの基礎的発見事実－ 平成22年10月 科学技術政策研究所／一橋大学イノベーション研究センター共同研究チーム
In Japan, there are about 70,000 postgraduate students, and the number of researchers is about 850,000, excluding postgraduate students. When we simply compare the number of publications, postgraduate students are about three times as productive as non-student researchers on average as 4/1 of research papers from Japan are produced by postgraduate students being the first author.
However, the majority of postgraduate students are required to pay tuition fees and have to finance living expenses by themselves. Why are they not being paid?
Although many countries recognise postgraduate students as labourers to engage essential research work in academic institutions, the important roles of such students are still under-recognised in Japan. As a consequence, even basic labour rights are not guaranteed for postgraduate students. Additionally, the inequality of opportunities, as well as discriminations against gender and other characteristics, are the severe issues to be recognised.
Q.頭脳流出、このままでいいの？
Q. What shall we do about brain-drain?
A.無関係な職種や外資系企業に流れる頭脳は日本経済にも学術研究にも大損失
A. Highly skilled people are leaving from academia to unrelated jobs and/or foreign companies. This situation has been a massive loss to the Japanese economy and academic research.
日本は税金と高い教育水準で最優秀の頭脳を懸命に育てますが、やっと国際競争力として活躍し始める大学院生以降、突如梯子を外します。社会保障も給料もない生活を余儀なくされ、当然一般労働（会社員、コンビニバイト等）や外国に流出していきます。
今、そんな彼らの専門性を評価し超厚遇を与え救いの手を伸ばしてくる存在がいます。GAFA[※Google Amazon Facebook Apple] です。諸先進国は皆その手の頭脳流出を恐れ、研究者に高給と十分な研究環境を整えています。もしも外国から研究者が来てくれたら、ラッキーなので高給で雇います。自国の税金を使って育てたわけでもないのに、自国の国際競争力や公益に貢献してくれるからです。せっかく育った専門家が無関係の仕事をするのはコスパが悪いので、高給を約束し専門職で活躍させます。研究者には研究をさせます。
ご存知の通り日本は逆です。日本は、これで良いのでしょうか？
Despite the huge investment to ensure high educational standards, the Japanese government withdraws support for postgraduate students who are just about to become internationally competitive human resources. Subsequently, as there is no salary or social insurance during postgraduate programmes, many postgraduate students and/or doctorate holders have no other choice than working in non-academic environments (convenience stores, office work, etc.). Some of them also leave the country seeking better working environments.
Investing on exceptional working conditions and salaries as recognising their expertise and accomplishments, dominant multinational companies such as GAFA (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple) have become some of the most attractive destinations for researchers. To prevent such brain drain, many developed countries are willing to invest in high salary standards and sufficient research environments for researchers. At the same time, those countries do their best to attract highly educated human resources (i.e.researchers) from abroad as such immigrants will contribute to winning the international competition as well as to the public benefits. Considering the cost of raising highly educated human resources, countries make sure that experts work on their professions by ensuring a high salary, and researchers are encouraged to conduct research.
To the contrary, an exactly opposite situation is observable in Japan. What shall we do?
Q.選択と集中で研究力は維持できる？
Q. Can we keep the policy of “selection and concentration”?
A.無理
A. Impossible.
市場競争の経済合理性の原理には限界があります。科学技術研究費や大学の運営費交付金は徐々に削られています。また、昨今激化している「選択と集中」の競争や、短期的に利益がでて役に立つような「その時の需要の高い」研究のみでは学問研究の水準や、持続可能な社会の基盤を維持することができません。
The economic rationality principle of the competitive market is not perfect. In Japan, governmental expenses for science and technology research as well as university grants have been reduced for the last few decades. Therefore, the competition for “selection and concentration” is more and more intensified. In addition, the government has a strong tendency to invest in “currently highly demanded research” which would bring easily recognisable benefits in the short term. Such policies are insufficient to maintain high academic standards and the base of the sustainable society. Hence, securing stable financing for academic research is essential for the sustainable society regardless of the potential of short term benefits.
SNS
