Jeondaenet "99% of University Students Demand Tuition Refund... Take Measures"

Survey of over 20,000 students at 203 universities in Korea
Students cite "decline in quality of remote classes" and "inaccessibility of school facilities" as reasons

On the 21st, members of the National University Student Network held hand placards with content related to tuition refund at a press conference delivering the results of a survey on tuition refund and economic measures for university students, which was attended by 21,784 participants from 203 universities nationwide in front of the Government Seoul Office Building. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Amid the ongoing impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), with universities nationwide conducting online lectures, college students' demands for tuition refunds are expected to intensify.

The National University Student Council Network (Jeondaenet), composed of student councils from 27 universities, held a press conference on the 21st in front of the Seoul Government Complex in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, raising their voices that "the disaster situation for students caused by COVID-19 has continued for two months."

Jeondaenet pointed out the urgency of measures, stating, "Although university students have continued to declare a disaster state, the Ministry of Education and the Korea Council for University Education have not responded for two weeks to students' demands to convene a tripartite council."

They added, "Return the tuition fees for the first semester as 99% of students wish and participate in the tripartite council," emphasizing, "Economic measures must be prepared for university students who are in blind spots due to monthly rent expenses and job search difficulties."

On this day, Jeondaenet released the results of a survey conducted from the 14th to the 19th among 21,784 students enrolled in 203 universities nationwide.

According to the survey, 99.2% of respondents answered that "a tuition refund for the first semester is necessary." Students cited reasons for demanding tuition refunds such as "the quality of remote classes (online lectures) is poor" and "school facilities are unavailable."

Regarding the form of tuition refund, 87.4% responded that "the paid tuition should be returned or refunded." Only 11% agreed with "providing scholarships suited to students' circumstances based on each school's situation."

Fifty-five percent of students answered that "half of the tuition should be refunded when a tuition refund is decided," 28.4% said "20?30% refund," and 9.5% said "full refund."

Additionally, students identified economic damages caused by COVID-19 such as "unnecessary monthly rent and dormitory fees," "job search difficulties," and "unnecessary transportation expenses."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.