Keio, Kyoritsu University of Pharmacy eye merger
TOKYO -- Keio University and Kyoritsu University
of Pharmacy have agreed to hold discussions on a merger.
The Minato Ward, Tokyo-based Keio University intends
to set up a department of pharmacy in the university
and a pharmacy graduate course at the graduate school
in the 2008 academic year, the universities said Monday.
If the merger goes according to their plan, Keio
University would be the third four-year private university
to merge with another private university.
As the number of applicants will match the number
of entrants universities allow as early as next academic
year with the declining birth rate, the competition
is becoming fierce among universities to survive.
Under such circumstances, the merger of the two universities
is bound to attract public attention.
According to the announcement, the Minato Ward, Tokyo-based
Kyoritsu University of Pharmacy suggested in October
2005 the merger to Keio and unofficially sounded out
Keio on the possibility of a merger. After behind-the-scenes
negotiations, Kyoritsu officially proposed the plan
to Keio on Nov. 6 and Keio decided to accept the proposal
Monday. They plan to conclude a merger agreement in
March 2007.
Since Kyoritsu changed its four-year course to a
six-year pharmacy course in its pharmacy department
in the 2006 academic year, the number of applicants
for the entrance examination this spring decreased
by 14 percent from the previous year. As the training
period at hospitals largely increased with the change
to the six-year course, Kyoritsu decided that there
would be a limit to a university pharmacy program
since the university does not have an affiliated hospital.
Therefore, Kyoritsu offered the merge with Keio, which
has a medical department, hospital and research facilities.
At the same time, Keio, which has medical and nursing
as well as science and engineering, departments, has
no pharmacy programs. Therefore, Keio likely judged
that it would be able to secure high-quality students
if it newly established a pharmacy department as a
major attraction for would-be applicants.
