Over 160,000 Junior College Graduates Last Year, Down 26.9% from 20 Years Ago
PhD Graduates (16,000) Highest Since 2000
Master's and PhD Graduate Students Up 14.7%
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Over the past 20 years, the number of junior college graduates has decreased to an all-time low, while the number of graduate school doctoral degree graduates has surpassed the highest record.
On the 23rd, Jongno Academy analyzed the status of graduates from higher education institutions from 2000 to 2021. The number of junior college graduates decreased by 26.9%, from 223,489 in 2000 to 163,472 last year. The proportion of junior college graduates among all higher education institutions dropped from 41.3% to 24.9%, marking the lowest level since 2000.
On the other hand, the number of graduate school doctoral degree graduates reached a record high of 16,420 (2.5%) last year. Compared to 6,141 in 2000, this is a 2.7-fold increase. The cumulative number of doctoral graduates reached 304,223.
Including master's degrees, the total number of graduate school graduates accounted for 14.7% (96,450) of all graduates, a significant increase from 9.8% in 2000. However, this represents a 0.2 percentage point decrease compared to the previous year (99,815 graduates, 14.9%), which was the highest level on record.
The proportion of graduate school graduates among all higher education graduates exceeded 10% in 2001, up from 6.0% in 1970. The proportion of doctoral graduates in graduate programs increased steadily from 0.5% in 1970 to 1.1% in 1995, reaching 2.0% in 2016 and rising to an all-time high of 2.5% in 2021.
Meanwhile, the total number of graduates from higher education institutions had been increasing until 2016 but has been declining since 2021 due to a decrease in the school-age population. In 2021, the total number of entrants to higher education institutions was 687,317, a 4.1% decrease from 726,981 the previous year. Junior colleges saw a decrease of 21,826 entrants, and general universities saw a decrease of 13,393 entrants.
Oh Jong-woon, director of Jongno Academy, explained, "Due to the continued decrease in the school-age population after 2022, the number of graduates from junior colleges and general universities will decline, leading to an overall downward trend in the total number of graduates from higher education institutions."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
