Council welcomes government's proposed overhaul of local education grants
The National Core Public University Presidents' Council, a body representing 19 universities across the country, has urged the government to immediately overhaul the local education grant system and increase investment in higher education to promote balanced public education development.
The government has been pursuing a plan to scrap the current formula that ties local education grants to domestic tax revenue and replace it with a new calculation method that reflects changes in the school-age population.
In a statement issued Thursday, the council said that just as the government's "5 Poles, 3 Special Zones" policy — aimed at shifting the country from a single Seoul-centered structure to a multi-hub system — is necessary for sustainable national development, so too is balanced fiscal investment across education sectors to build a sustainable public education ecosystem.
The council also said the proposed grant overhaul is not intended to cut elementary and secondary school budgets, but rather to maximize the efficiency of national finances and achieve balanced development across the full spectrum of public education — from early childhood and primary and secondary schooling through higher education and lifelong learning. It added that expanding the higher education budget would serve as a catalyst for national growth and regional balance, and that increasing funding to a level befitting an advanced economy is essential.
The council noted that as of 2022, per-student public education spending in South Korea stood at 155 percent of the OECD average for elementary school and 179 percent for secondary school, while spending at the university level reached only 68.5 percent of the OECD average. It said this disparity in public education spending leads to a decline in the quality of university education, and that expanding public investment in higher education is therefore a key national policy priority — one that requires the efficient allocation of tax-funded education spending.
The council urged the government to carry out three measures to support the country's future growth and regional balanced development.
The three demands were: that the government proceed without delay with a rational overhaul of the local education grant system to promote balanced development of public education; that public education spending on higher education be expanded to drive national growth and regional balance; and that alongside the "5 Poles, 3 Special Zones" policy to foster anchor universities in each hub, undergraduate education funding in each region also be considered in tandem with the "Build 10 Seoul National Universities" initiative.
Member universities of the National Core Public University Presidents' Council are Gangwon National University, Gyeonguk National University, Kongju National University, Kunsan National University, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Mokpo National University, Mokpo National Maritime University, Pukyong National University, Sunchon National University, Changwon National University, Korea National University of Transportation, Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Hanbat National University, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, University of Seoul, Hankyong National University, Korea National University of Education, Korea National Open University and Korea National Sport University.
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