The government has decided to provide additional funding to universities that reduce their enrollment quotas this year. This means that they will give more support to universities that proactively respond to the decline in school-age population.
The Ministry of Education announced on the 20th the basic plan for the '2025-2027 University and Community College Innovation Support Project and 2025 National University Development Project.'
The University and Community College Innovation Support Project is designed to provide funding to enhance universities' own capabilities for innovation. This year, a total of 795.5 billion won will be provided to 138 four-year universities and 555.5 billion won to 118 community colleges.
The National University Development Project aims to support the autonomous innovation of national universities and enhance their social accountability. A total of 424.3 billion won will be allocated to 37 universities.
The Ministry of Education has decided to inject additional funding this year to encourage voluntary enrollment reductions by universities. They plan to provide a total of 30 billion won so that universities that reduce their quotas do not face difficulties in academic operations or student support. Community colleges will receive an additional total of 21 billion won.
The reason the government is encouraging universities to reduce enrollment quotas is the continuously declining school-age population. According to the Statistics Korea, the school-age population, which was 3.27 million in 2000, has decreased by 42% to 1.9 million last year, the lowest in 24 years. This trend is expected to continue for the time being, with projections of 1.88 million in 2030 and 1.19 million in 2040.
Additionally, the government has decided to strengthen support for 'education innovation leading universities' this year, following last year, expanding student major selection rights, such as the major selection system, and enhancing flexibility in academic structures. The weight of the enrollment rate of current students in the evaluation formula will be increased to 1.5 times compared to last year. Last year, the weights were 1.6 for S grade, 1.3 for A grade, 1.0 for B grade, and 0.7 for C grade, but this year the weights will change to 2.0 for S grade, 1.5 for A grade, 1.0 for B grade, and 0.5 for C grade. Depending on the evaluation results, the scale of support will also change. Furthermore, the Ministry of Education has decided to widen the weight difference between grades in performance evaluations.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Joo-ho said, "A variety of creative and convergent talents are required due to the rapidly changing industrial structure and the declining school-age population," and noted, "We will support universities to become the center of core talent cultivation through bold educational innovations."