Will University Tuition Be Refunded? "May Be Provided as a Special Scholarship"

Ministry of Education Briefly Discusses with Daekyo Association Executives at Introductory Meeting

Students from the National University Student Council Network are making a disaster declaration for the COVID-19 university crisis on the 6th in front of the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. They urged for tuition refunds and measures for remote lectures. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Amid concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the majority of universities nationwide have been conducting remote classes as of April, and the Ministry of Education and universities have begun discussing plans to partially refund tuition fees to students.

According to the Ministry of Education on the 9th, Vice Minister Park Baek-beom and the newly appointed executive board of the Korea Council for University Education met to discuss such plans during a meeting held to mark the inauguration of the executive board. The tuition refund plan was not an official agenda item but was one of the issues raised during discussions on recent university matters. Students have been demanding partial refunds of tuition fees, arguing that the quality of classes is low and they cannot use facilities such as libraries.

The executive board of the Korea Council for University Education has drawn a line, stating that partial tuition refunds are difficult. They cited reasons such as financial difficulties caused by over ten years of frozen tuition fees, and the increased financial strain due to expenses for accommodating international students in dormitories and costs related to school quarantine and preparation for remote classes amid COVID-19. Instead, the council suggested, "We could consider providing special scholarships and living support funds according to each university's circumstances for the students." Vice Minister Park expressed the opinion that it would be good for universities to find student support measures through close communication with students.