Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin said the government will "actively support regional private universities so that they are not left out," addressing concerns over a policy that fully covers tuition for freshmen at regional national universities.
In an interview with Yonhap News TV on the 3rd, Choi said, "We will actively improve the educational conditions of private universities so they can respond to the needs of regional industry and to the changes of the artificial intelligence era."
The remarks came in response to strong objections from private universities, which have called the government's plan to make tuition free at regional national universities an unfair policy.
Choi cited a plan to provide 1.3 trillion won to regional private universities next year across five new programs, including 600 billion won for building science and engineering infrastructure.
On the selection of Pusan National University, Chonnam National University and Chungnam National University as package-support schools under the government's so-called "Creating 10 Seoul National Universities" project, he said it is "a policy to intensively support flagship national universities, raise their teaching and research capacity, and establish them as a central axis of balanced national growth."
"The change students will feel most is that scholarships will be greatly expanded and employment and research opportunities will increase considerably," he added. "All three universities will expand contract-based departments and corporate-linked programs that can lead directly to employment after graduation."
Asked about complaints from provincial education superintendents and teachers' groups over the proposed overhaul of local education grants, he said, "I find it very regrettable that there is a degree of misunderstanding," adding, "According to government estimates, the grant is expected to grow steadily from 72 trillion won based on this year's main budget to 79 trillion won next year and 93 trillion won by 2030." The grant will keep rising in line with prices and economic conditions, he said.
On a proposal to introduce essay and short-answer questions to the national college entrance exam, he said, "Everyone would agree that assessments that genuinely build thinking and problem-solving skills are essential in the AI era," but added, "introducing this directly into college admissions is an issue with sharply conflicting interests."
