CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING COLLEGE TUITION REFUNDS

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The government has set aside an extra budget to help universities refund part of tuition to students dissatisfied with the quality of classes held online amid the COVID-19 outbreak. But both universities and students are expressing disappointment at the budget, which was significantly curtailed from the initial plan.

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​[Soundbite] "Directly announce tuition refund plans! (Announce it! announce it!)"

College students had to take online classes throughout the spring semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Disgruntled with the quality of the learning environment, they are now staging a campaign demanding tuition refunds.

[Soundbite] KIM DONG-HYUN(STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT, KOREA UNIVERSITY SEJONG CAMPUS) : "We are stressing that the technical defects and low quality of online classes are the biggest problem. We have the same issue with experiments."

Some 3,000 students from about 40 universities across the nation even filed a class action lawsuit against the government and universities over the issue. In response, the government announced a plan to appropriate 100 billion won from its latest supplementary budget and invest it in improving online education at universities. The National Assembly recommended the Education Ministry take into consideration each institution's efforts to provide special scholarships. This means, when providing financial assistance, priority will be given to universities that return part of tuition to students in the form of special scholarships. However, many colleges find the budget disappointing, since it is a third of the desired amount.

[Soundbite] (PRIVATE UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL(VOICE MODIFIED)) : "The reduction means students will receive less than expected."

Students remain dissatisfied, as they demanded a refund of at least one million won, or around a third of the Spring semester tuition.

[Soundbite] LEE HAE-JI(NATIONAL NETWORK OF COLLEGE STUDENTS) : "They said the amount is based on the calculation that each student would receive 400,000 won, about ten percent of our tuition. However, the budget of 100 billion won suggests only about 50,000 will be given per student."

The Education Ministry will use 100 billion won to set up a college innovation support fund, part of efforts to indirectly assist schools in refunding tuition. The Ministry will come up with detailed action plans by the end of this month.