Government Considers Providing National Scholarships to 80% of University Students

Support for All University Students Except Top 20% Income Bracket

The government is reportedly considering a plan to provide national scholarships to all university students except those in the top 20% income bracket in order to reduce the financial burden of tuition fees.

According to the Ministry of Education and other sources on the 13th, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and related departments are preparing measures to expand the benefits of national scholarships for university students to ease the tuition burden on students and their parents.

The national scholarship is awarded to university students who meet certain academic criteria linked to their income level. Currently, out of 2.03 million enrolled university students, about 1 million, or half, receive national scholarship benefits. As of this year, all children from basic livelihood security and near-poverty households receive full tuition support, while others receive between 3.5 million and 5.7 million KRW annually depending on income.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the plan under review, all university students except those in the top 20% income bracket will be eligible for national scholarship support. The additional budget is estimated to be between 1.5 trillion and 3 trillion KRW.

The government is also reportedly planning to extend the freeze on student loan interest rates and interest waivers, previously applied to low-income groups, to include the working and middle classes. Additionally, measures to reduce living expenses, such as housing cost relief, are also being considered.

However, the Ministry of Education stated at a regular briefing held at the Government Complex Sejong on the morning of the same day that "there is no confirmation as it is a matter under party-government consultation."

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