Allowing Work-Study Students to Work from Home... Maximum Work Limit Raised to 520 Hours

Announcement of the 2021 National Scholarship Basic Plan
Applications must be submitted to Korea Student Aid Foundation by March 16

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Education will allow university students receiving work-study scholarships this year to work from home. The maximum work hours per semester will also be increased to 520 hours.

On the 3rd, the Ministry of Education announced the "2021 Customized National Scholarship Basic Plan." This basic plan encompasses the previously separate projects of the National Scholarship, Work-Study Scholarship Program, and Outstanding Student National Scholarship Program.

Applications for the first semester National Scholarship will be accepted from the 3rd to March 16th and can be submitted through the Korea Student Aid Foundation website. After confirming whether document submission is required, submitting the necessary documents, and completing related procedures such as consenting to provide household member information, applicants can receive the National Scholarship. Application results can be checked on the Korea Student Aid Foundation website, via mobile, or through telephone consultation.

The National Scholarship is a program aimed at reducing tuition burdens for low-income and lower-middle-class families, providing a total of 3.4831 trillion KRW with differentiated payments according to support brackets. For students facing economic difficulties due to unemployment or business closure, an additional National Scholarship amounting to about 10% of tuition will be provided.

The Work-Study Scholarship program offers work opportunities and scholarships to students who wish to participate, with this year’s budget set at approximately 357.9 billion KRW. The number of work-study students this year is 120,000, an increase of 11,000 from last year. In accordance with quarantine guidelines, work-from-home will be permitted, and the work hour limit per semester will be raised to 520 hours.

The Outstanding Student National Scholarship Program aims to cultivate leading talents in various fields and provide overseas study opportunities to outstanding low-income high school students. This year, 4,400 students will receive support totaling 37.8 billion KRW.

The Ministry of Education will improve participation conditions for the "Type 2 National Scholarship," which supports universities' independent efforts to alleviate tuition burdens. Universities that have not raised their average tuition fees will be allowed to participate, and exceptions will be made in tuition calculation criteria for cases where departments have been merged or abolished due to restructuring. Additionally, soundness checks between students and work institutions will be conducted, and mutual evaluations between institutions and students will be increased to twice a year.

Starting next year, the Ministry plans to raise the support amount for basic and near-poverty households from 5.2 million KRW to 7 million KRW and expand support so that the third and subsequent children in multi-child families can receive full tuition coverage.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye stated, "Despite the difficult circumstances caused by COVID-19, we will continue to make efforts so that university student households can tangibly feel the reduction in tuition burdens through customized National Scholarship support."

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