The Ministry of Education said on the 2nd it will change the name of the government fiscal program that supports regions and universities from "RISE" to "Anchor." It is being changed to anchor to mean a mooring, with the goal of training talent and, after employment and startups, settling them in the region.
On the day, the Ministry of Education announced a plan to promote the regional growth talent development system (Anchor). The regional growth talent development system is a policy in which 17 local governments support regional universities with projects linked to regional development strategies. On the name change, an official at the Ministry of Education said, "It reflects the intent to support talent so they stay in the region, with the goal of balanced regional growth."
The Ministry of Education, while changing the name, announced it will allocate the budget based on performance. The total budget for the regional growth talent development system is 2.1403 trillion won, of which 400 billion won will be used as a performance evaluation incentive budget. It plans to operate the program by evaluating last year's project performance, giving more budget to local governments with strong results and cutting budgets for those without. The Ministry of Education plans to examine whether local governments engaged in pork-barrel allocations when selecting and supporting universities, and whether cooperation with universities was carried out in a substantive manner.
Along with this, the project will be reorganized around tasks with a high level of student impact. It will expand tasks that collaborate with corporations, such as contract departments and internships, and will build startup education and startup infrastructure. In line with the development strategy for the five mega-regions and three special self-governing provinces (5 poles, 3 special), it will promote a mega-regional project worth 200 billion won. By introducing a shared university model, it will enable universities within each zone to share resources.
Minister of Education Choi Kyo-jin said, "Within the broad framework of the pan-government national balance policy, we will foster regional universities with a focus on innovation," adding, "We will focus on delivering results so that more settlement-oriented talent can invigorate the regions."