Lee Vows College Tuition Cut
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak said Friday that the government will come up with measures to help reduce the increasing cost of college tuition.
``The government will take steps to help relieve the difficulties of students from low-income families in consultation with the education and economy ministries in an active manner,'' Lee said during a luncheon with presidents of the nation's 185 four-year colleges.
To that end, the government will help universities increase scholarship programs or loans for students, the President said.
He emphasized that promising students should not be forced to give up an opportunity to go to college due to poverty.
Colleges are too heavily dependent on tuition fees for revenue, he noted.
Last week, about 8,000 students, parents and civic activists held a rally in Seoul to protest the hikes in college tuition fees.