Tuition Increase at 12 Schools... Total 6.3%
49.12% of Universities Plan Increases by Next Year
Government "No Penalty Review for Universities Raising Tuition"
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The government expressed regret over some universities that decided to raise tuition fees this year. However, following last year, it only maintained the policy of keeping or lowering tuition fees and failed to present appropriate incentives or regulatory measures.
Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, stated at a briefing on the 8th, "We thank the universities that froze or lowered tuition fees this year despite difficult conditions," and added, "We express regret to the universities that raised tuition fees without joining the Ministry of Education's policy direction."
According to the Korea Council of Private University Presidents (KCPUP), out of 191 universities, 12 schools, accounting for 6.3% of the total, raised tuition fees. 148 schools, or 77.5% of the total, decided to freeze tuition fees this year, and only one school, Cheongju University, decided to lower tuition fees. There were 29 universities (15.2%) whose tuition fee increase, decrease, or freeze status was not confirmed.
Among the 12 universities that decided to raise tuition fees, eight were national and public universities, all of which were teachers' colleges, and the remaining four were private universities including Dong-A University. They decided to raise tuition fees amid adverse conditions such as a declining school-age population, rising prices, and prolonged tuition freezes.
On the 23rd, students are walking through the green campus of Yonsei University in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. The Korea Meteorological Administration forecasted that the whole country would be mostly clear, with the highest apparent temperature rising above 31 degrees Celsius, showing summer weather. Fine dust levels are expected to be 'moderate' in most regions nationwide. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
According to the Higher Education Act, the legal limit for tuition fee increases is up to 1.5 times the average consumer price index increase over three years. With last year's consumer price index rising by 5.1%, this year's legal limit for tuition fee increases was significantly expanded to 4.05%, up from 1.65% last year.
Accordingly, Dong-A University, which raised undergraduate tuition fees by 3.95% this year, is estimated to have increased tuition revenue by 5 billion KRW. This amount is 2.5 times the 2 billion KRW received through the Type II National Scholarship. The Ministry of Education announced the 2023 Basic Plan for Customized National Scholarship Support, stating that it would provide 380 billion KRW in Type II National Scholarships to universities that froze or lowered tuition fees this year, the same scale as last year, but this is insufficient to prevent tuition fee increases.
Within the university community, there are complaints that the policy to suppress tuition fee increases, which has continued for 15 years, has now reached its limit. In fact, in a recent survey conducted by the Ministry of Education's press corps targeting presidents of four-year universities, 45 out of 114 respondents (39.5%) answered that they "plan to consider raising tuition fees around next year" in response to the question of whether they are considering tuition fee increases. Including universities that responded they would raise tuition fees in the first semester (10 schools) and second semester (1 school) of this year, 49.12% of the total plan to raise tuition fees in the 2023?2024 academic year.
Despite this situation, the Ministry of Education maintains the policy of keeping or lowering tuition fees but has stated that there will be no sanctions against universities that raise tuition fees. Jang Sang-yoon, Vice Minister of Education, said, "It is true that with the high inflation rate, the Type II National Scholarship is difficult to act as an effective policy tool," but he drew a line by saying, "We are not considering linking incentives or penalties to financial support projects."
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