Scholarship for college students up 10% last year

The average value of scholarships for students taking four-year college degrees rose by 10 percent last year as schools sought to expand such benefits in response to criticism of excessive tuition costs, the education ministry said Thursday.

Korean universities have been under pressure to cut tuition fees and expand scholarships, as annual increases in tuition burden students and parents already suffering from growing household debt and increasing commodity prices. The issue of tuition fees viewed as excessive became a political hot potato last year.

According to a survey by the ministry of the country's 181 four-year universities on major education indicators, students received an average of 1.46 million won ($1,296) in scholarships last year, up 10.6 percent from a year earlier and higher than last year's inflation rate of 4.0 percent.

The increase was larger in private schools, at 11.1 percent, with public and other national universities up 8.2 percent, the survey showed.

The schools' annual expenses for each student also rose by 5.8 percent last year to 11.5 million won, according to the survey, indicating an improvement in the quality of college education.

The Pohang University of Science and Technology, a leading science school, spent the largest amount on teaching at 78.6 million won for the year, followed by Cha University, a medical school, with 61.4 million won, and Seoul National University with 36.7 million won, the survey showed.

This year, the proportion of full-time lecturers at the schools came to 79.3 percent, up 2.8 percentage points from a year earlier, it showed.

In terms of student admission, 168 out of 181 colleges, or 92.3 percent, filled more than 90 percent of their quota this year, down by 3.8 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the data.

The decrease in the number of newly enrolled students is attributed to the government's policy of encouraging businesses to hire more high school graduates, the ministry said. Last year, 23.4 percent of students from the country's vocational high schools landed jobs, up from 19.2 percent in 2010, with the rate of those opting to advance to college down by 7.4 percent to 63.7 percent, the survey showed. (Yonhap)