Lee Hyo-sik is Finance Desk editor at The Korea Times. He manages finance-related stories on macroeconomics, banks, stocks, bonds, crypto etc. He is passionate about covering what's happening in Korea's financial industry and explaining it to both Korean and non-Korean readers. You can reach him at leehs@koreatimes.co.kr. Your insights and feedbacks are always appreciated.
University tuition hikes to be capped
By Lee Hyo-sik
It is unlikely Seoul National University and other universities here will be able to raise tuition fees by more than 5 percent next year as part of government efforts to ease the financial burden on students and parents.
Students and parents will also be allowed to have a say when universities decide tuition-related policies, making it more difficult for schools to increase the costs of higher-education.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Tuesday that it will make these and other changes to the rules governing university tuitions.
It plans to finalize the revision before November when universities begin to discuss tuition fee hikes for the first semester of 2011.
“University tuition costs have increased at a relatively fast pace over the past two years despite strong opposition from students and parents. Until now, schools had raised education costs by close to 10 percent every year. We think if students and parents participate in the tuition decision-making process, an excessive tuition fee hike can be prevented,” a ministry official said.
Universities have been criticized over the years for their lax financial management, spending billions of won each year to build new buildings and organize lavish promotional events.
Under the new rules, universities will be forced to increase tuition fees by less than 1.5 times the annual average inflation rate over the previous three years.
For instance, if consumer prices rise by 2.5 percent this year as projected by the Bank of Korea, following 4.7 percent in 2008 and 2.8 percent in 2009, the average annual inflation rate for the past three years will be 3.3 percent.
Thus, university tuition fees cannot increase by more than 5 percent (3.3 percent times 1.5) in 2010.
Universities will also be obliged to announce tuition fees ahead of each semester and report them to the education ministry.
If schools increase tuition by more than the legal ceiling, they will have to state legitimate grounds for it.
If considered improper, the ministry will slash the number of students universities can recruit, cut financial subsidies and impose other penalties.