Ministry of Education Confirms 237 Schools for Emergency Support Program
138 Universities and 99 Junior Colleges
Junior College Support Up to 960 Million KRW
Excludes Universities with Over 100 Billion KRW in Accumulated Reserves
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Through the Ministry of Education's 'Emergency Support Project for University Non-Face-to-Face Education,' general universities can receive up to 2.1 billion KRW, and vocational colleges can receive up to 960 million KRW.
The Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation announced on the 22nd that they have finalized 237 universities eligible for the Emergency Support Project for University Non-Face-to-Face Education and informed the universities of the results. This project was confirmed in the third supplementary budget and amounts to a total of 100 billion KRW. The Ministry of Education stated the purpose was to reduce the burden on universities that suddenly switched to remote lectures due to the impact of COVID-19, but in reality, the budget was seen as support for universities refunding tuition fees for the first semester. There was also controversy over the government providing tax-funded support to private universities.
Among the 290 universities eligible to apply for this project (167 general universities and 123 vocational colleges), 239 universities, or 83%, participated. After evaluation, the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation finally selected 138 general universities and 99 vocational colleges. By establishment type, there are 43 national and public universities and 194 private universities; by region, 86 are in the metropolitan area and 151 are outside the metropolitan area. The support funds will be allocated to each university based on weighted factors such as university size, region, and reserve fund size.
Universities with cumulative reserves exceeding 100 billion KRW, such as Korea University, Yonsei University, and Sungkyunkwan University, were excluded from support. Some universities, including religious-affiliated and small-scale universities, did not apply for support funds at all. The Ministry of Education plans to ensure that universities carry out non-face-to-face class support, educational environment improvements, expansion of experimental and practical equipment, and quarantine measures smoothly according to the project plans established using the support budget. Park Baek-beom, Vice Minister of Education, said, "As university finances have become difficult due to efforts to reduce tuition fees, we hope that excellent educational innovation cases will emerge through this support project."
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