[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] The National Human Rights Commission has expressed the opinion that providing scholarships based on admission to a specific university or department constitutes discrimination rooted in academic elitism.
On the 11th, the Human Rights Commission stated, "Scholarship foundations awarding scholarships to students admitted to certain schools or departments judge students' abilities and potential solely based on the results of college entrance competition," adding, "This has the potential for discrimination based on academic background." Accordingly, it issued an opinion urging 34 local government scholarship foundations to improve their scholarship payment criteria.
Previously, petitioner A claimed, "Scholarship foundations in military districts nationwide discriminate by awarding scholarships only to students from the region who have entered so-called prestigious universities like Seoul National University or departments such as pre-med, distinguishing them from other students." In response, some local government scholarship foundations argued, "This is a reward for greater effort than others, a motivation, and an appropriate compensation for promoting the hometown where the student was born and raised as a city with outstanding educational value."
However, the Human Rights Commission stated, "(Academic elitism) leads to the ranking of universities and the collapse of local universities, and the psychological deprivation and inferiority complex caused by academic background can result in social class division and polarization," urging improvements in scholarship payment criteria.
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