Vice Minister Oh Seok-hwan stated on the 11th, "Universities are facing an unprecedented crisis because of the drop in the school-age population", and added, "In order to secure stable financial support, we will seek an extension of the validity period of the Higher and Lifelong Education Support Special Account (KOTUK)".
At that time, Vice Minister Oh remarked at the '3rd Higher Education Finance Innovation Forum' held at Chung-Ang University, "It is a time when establishing an innovation ecosystem around universities is needed".
The Ministry of Education created the KOTUK in 2023. It invests part of the education tax income earmarked for local education funding at the kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school levels in universities. The overall budget was 9.74 trillion won at that time, which rose to 16.4 trillion won in this year.
Yet, the KOTUK, as a dedicated account, is temporary in terms of financial support compared to the educational finance grants. As a result, universities have contended that budget support will have to be maintained given the decreasing population of school-age children.
Vice Minister Oh said, "In order to make universities grow steadily in accordance with the fast-changing society, stable financial situations are necessary", and continued, "We will increase national-level financial support while also expanding university support based on local governments and supporting universities in diversifying their own revenues".
He further added, "The universities that over 70% of students go to are the future of those students and the future of Korea", and added, "We will work to provide stable financial support so that universities can continue to develop".
