Private University presidents protest state-funded full scholarships for national universities

SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island — Presidents of private universities held an emergency meeting in Seogwipo, Jeju Island, on Friday to protest the Education Ministry’s plan to provide free tuition to students at regional public universities, arguing that the policy would put private institutions at a competitive disadvantage.

“If the government provides full tuition scholarships to students simply because they attend public universities, regardless of their income, while excluding private university students, students and parents will find it difficult to accept the system as fair,” said Inje University President Jeon Min-hyon, who also heads the Korean Association of Private University Presidents.

The Education Ministry on Friday announced plans to introduce a new state-funded scholarship covering tuition for students at 30 national and public universities outside the Greater Seoul area encompassing Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, as part of the government’s push to encourage young people to study and remain in regional areas.

The association warned that the policy could widen the financial gap between public and private universities at a time when many regional private institutions are already struggling with declining student populations and rising operating costs.

Private universities have also long criticized government restrictions on tuition increases. Under the Higher Education Act, annual tuition increases are capped at 1.2 times the average inflation rate over the preceding three years. The association filed a constitutional complaint challenging the restriction in December 2025.

“Private universities have been struggling since 2009 due to the government’s tuition restrictions, a declining student population and rising personnel, facility maintenance and equipment costs,” Jeon said.

“If the government covers the entire cost of tuition at regional public universities, parents will effectively face a choice between a public university with a zero won tuition and a private university costing several million won.”

The scholarship plan was among a series of policies targeting young adults unveiled by seven government agencies at the “2027 Youth Budget Unboxing” event Friday.

The Education Ministry said it would establish the Balanced Regional Growth Scholarship, which will eventually provide full tuition support to students at 30 national and public universities outside the greater Seoul area, regardless of their household income or place of residence.

The program will begin with first-year students entering university in the 2027 academic year before gradually expanding to students in other grade levels.

The government plans to allocate 213 billion won ($154 million) to the program next year, with annual spending set to increase to 328 billion won by 2030 as eligibility expands.

Students enrolled in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and pharmacy programs will be excluded.

To discourage students from enrolling solely to receive the scholarship before leaving to reapply to another university, recipients who drop out will be required to return any support they receive, minus the amount they would otherwise have received under the existing Type I national scholarship program.

The government also announced a separate 465 billion won initiative to expand workplace training opportunities for some 60,000 university and junior college students.

Participants will receive 2.3 million won per month during their placements, split equally between the government and participating companies or institutions.

Students will receive an additional 100,000 won per month to cover transportation, accommodation and other participation costs.

Participating companies and institutions will receive 100,000 won per student per month for workplace mentoring, while universities will receive about 900,000 won per student to cover student selection and matching, preplacement education, counseling, monitoring and safety management.

However, the Education Ministry told The Korea Herald that international students will not be eligible for either program.

The Korean Association of Private University Presidents outlined three demands Friday, calling on the government to reconsider what it described as unequal treatment of private institutions.

First, the association said eligibility for the new scholarship should be determined by where a student studies, rather than whether the university is publicly or privately operated.

The association also called on the government to direct money from its planned Future Response Fund toward private universities.

The government announced plans earlier in August to establish the fund by setting aside additional tax revenue generated in part by the semiconductor industry’s strong performance, with the money intended to finance responses to future economic and social challenges.

Finally, the association called for the establishment of a sustainable and predictable national investment system for higher education, arguing that universities need stable long-term funding rather than individual support programs.