Bill Allowing Tuition Fee Waivers or Reductions in Disaster Situations Passed... Effectiveness Debated Due to Lack of Enforcement
6 out of 10 University Students Say "Cannot Get Tuition Refund"
Experts: "Need to Approach Differently, Not Assuming Existing In-Person Classes"
Youth Progressive Party officials are shouting slogans urging the Ministry of Education to supervise and establish standards for the implementation of a 1 million won cap on tuition fees and tuition refunds at a press conference announcing the university students' rights movement in the COVID-19 era held in front of the Government Seoul Office Building on the morning of the 10th. Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] "We've had online classes for a whole year," "Of course, tuition should be refunded."
Amid the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), most universities have continued online classes for the second semester, and university students are raising their voices demanding tuition refunds.
There are clear differences between online and face-to-face classes in terms of class quality and facility usage, yet it is considered unfair to charge the same tuition fees. Some argue that tuition fees should be adjusted based on online classes. Experts point out that since the situation has changed, a revision of the existing tuition fee calculation method is inevitable.
According to the Ministry of Education on the 24th, seven bills including a partial amendment to the "Higher Education Act," which allows universities to exempt or reduce tuition fees if classes are not properly conducted due to COVID-19 or other reasons, have passed the National Assembly plenary session.
According to the amendment, if academic operations are not conducted normally due to disasters such as COVID-19, universities may exempt or reduce tuition fees after discussions by the university tuition deliberation committee. The tuition deliberation committee must be composed so that students, faculty, staff, and experts do not exceed half of the total members.
However, tuition is not necessarily reduced during online classes. According to Yonhap News on the same day, a Ministry of Education official explained, "If it is judged that academic operations were not conducted normally, each university returns tuition fees after consulting with students."
Although the amendment provides a legal basis for tuition exemption or reduction, its effectiveness is questioned due to the lack of enforceability. Even if students demand refunds, if universities maintain a passive attitude toward tuition refunds, situations where students suffer damages may repeat.
Citizens are sitting in a cafe using laptops. Photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Yonhap News.
According to a survey, 6 out of 10 university students did not receive partial refunds for the first semester tuition.
On the 15th, part-time job portal Albamon and JobKorea surveyed 4,022 university students on "whether partial tuition refunds were received due to remote classes in the first semester and the status of leave of absence in the second semester." 60.5% of respondents answered "did not receive a refund."
The refund amount was found to be about 7% of the tuition on average. According to University Alimi, the average tuition for one semester this year was 3.35 million KRW. Summarizing the situation, the average refund per student was about 235,000 KRW.
As a result, some university students argue, "Since COVID-19 is prolonged, a plan to re-estimate tuition fees based on online classes should be prepared." This is because even if tuition is refunded, the refund amount is only about 10% of the tuition paid. Some students also said, "We did not even receive a refund for the first semester tuition."
Kim (22), a university student, said, "I only recently received a 10% refund of the tuition actually paid for the first semester classes," expressing frustration. "The tuition was 4.9 million KRW, but after deducting scholarships, they refunded 400,000 KRW, which is 10% of the actual payment."
Kim added, "Since I am in a science major, experiments and practical classes are important. Because the curriculum includes experiments and practical classes, tuition is higher due to material costs and maintenance of experimental equipment. I couldn't even use those, so I am angry that they don't refund the corresponding tuition."
Another university student, Park (24), said, "Even if the bill is passed, there is no enforceability, so how will the situation improve? They collect expensive tuition on time but delay refunds with various excuses and only return 200,000 to 300,000 KRW. That doesn't make sense," expressing frustration. "Universities are not places to do business with students, but it seems they only think about pocketing money."
Park pointed out, "The academic calendar, class progress, and grading methods should all be newly designed based on online classes. Naturally, tuition should be adjusted accordingly. I hope they at least make efforts to consider students' burdens."
Experts see the revision of tuition fee calculation methods as inevitable since remote education has become common after COVID-19.
Professor Kim Tae-gi of Dankook University's Department of Economics said, "Currently, tuition discounts are given temporarily on the premise of face-to-face classes, but we need to approach this differently. Remote classes are a trend, and the Ministry of Education needs to come up with creative and fundamental solutions," emphasizing.
Professor Kim added, "If the current situation continues, the quality of education will decline, and students will lack motivation for studies, leading to lower achievement. Since relative grading is not possible, the existing system has collapsed. Face-to-face and online class methods should be completely different," urging, "The government must actively respond so that universities can correct inadequate policies or systems."
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