University Entrance Fees to Be Eliminated Starting Next Year

University Admission Fee to be Abolished 70% This Year, 100% Next Year
Student Loan Interest Rate Reduced from 1.85% to 1.7%

Seodaemun-gu, Seoul Ewha Womans University campus view / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Starting next year, university entrance fees will be eliminated, and dormitory fees can be paid in installments or by card.

On the 5th, the Ministry of Education decided at the 3rd Youth Policy Coordination Committee to implement 37 tasks included in the '2021 Youth Policy Implementation Plan,' covering ▲jobs ▲housing ▲education ▲welfare & culture ▲participation & rights.

University entrance fees paid by freshmen will be abolished 70% this year and 100% next year. Student loan interest rates will also be reduced to 1.7% starting this year. Repayment of general student loans will be deferred in cases of unemployment or business closure, and debts will be waived for death or disabled persons.

The support limit for national scholarships for low-income students will be raised from 5.2 million won to 7 million won starting next year. Various types of dormitories accommodating 6,000 university students will be expanded, and the proportion of installment and card payments for dormitory fees will also increase by 3 percentage points each from the previous year, to 36% and 24%, respectively.

Educational support for youth not entering university will also be expanded. Post-secondary scholarships will be provided to 9,000 high school graduate youths, and lifelong education vouchers for low-income groups will be doubled in both scale and amount compared to last year, targeting 15,000 people with a maximum of 700,000 won.

To support employment of high school graduate youths, vocational high school field trainees will receive an average monthly allowance of 600,000 won, and 30,000 leading companies for field training will be discovered by 2025. Employment-linked incentives for high schools will be expanded to 5 million won starting next year, and employment support officers will be increased to 700. Field trainees and

local governments and universities will cooperate to expand regional innovation platforms to four this year, and financial expansion and efficiency plans will be prepared through phased reorganization and integration of existing national university projects.

Starting this year, five Meister universities will be operated on a pilot basis, and related laws will be revised to designate and operate 12 specialized leading colleges in new industry fields.

Mental health screenings for freshmen will be promoted, and counseling personnel within universities will be expanded to strengthen support for university students' mental health. Mental health diagnostic tests will be conducted for university freshmen in the first half of the year, and students identified as high-risk will be managed in cooperation with regional mental health welfare centers.

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