“Zero Tuition” at Regional National Universities Must Not Distort Competition Among Universities

The Ministry of Education is considering introducing a “regional balance scholarship” beginning with the 2027 academic year that would fully cover tuition for about 60,000 incoming students at 30 regional national universities. The annual scale of support is about 200 billion won, and if the existing national scholarship program is expanded, the additional fiscal cost is estimated at about 100 billion won. The government also plans to expand scholarships for outstanding students at regional private universities and contract departments at regional universities linked to employment conditions. Specific eligibility criteria and support methods are scheduled to be announced at the end of August after consultations with budget authorities.

The goal of easing young people’s tuition burden and revitalizing regional universities and local economies is understandable. In particular, expanding contract departments that link university education with corporate hiring is positive in that it can improve students’ employment prospects and cultivate talent needed by regional industries. However, a policy that fully covers tuition simply because someone is an “incoming student at a regional national university,” without considering the student’s income level or the university’s educational performance, should be reviewed carefully.

The biggest problem is that the government would be artificially setting different education prices depending on a university’s founding status. If students at national universities pay no tuition while students at private universities or junior colleges in the same region must bear tuition costs, students’ university choices may be driven more by whether government support is available than by educational quality or the competitiveness of a major. In fact, academic organizations have also raised concerns that free education limited to national universities could intensify student concentration there, accelerating financial deterioration and enrollment declines at regional private universities and junior colleges.

Nor does the government’s payment of tuition on behalf of students at certain universities automatically increase the number of young people who settle in the region. The fundamental reasons young people leave regional areas are tied not only to tuition, but also closely to quality jobs, wage levels, housing and transportation, cultural opportunities, and the educational and research competitiveness of universities. If these conditions are not improved, exempting tuition only at the point of admission is likely to do little more than delay by a few years the point at which graduates move to the Seoul metropolitan area.

Support for regional universities should be designed around students and educational outcomes rather than divided by university type. It would be more appropriate to concentrate assistance on students from financially struggling households and provide additional scholarships to students who choose majors needed in the region or participate in curricula linked to employment at regional companies. Eligibility for support should not be limited to national universities but should also be opened to regional private universities and junior colleges that meet certain standards for educational and employment performance and accounting transparency. That would promote competition among universities while guaranteeing students’ freedom of choice.

Fiscal support also needs clear performance criteria and exit conditions. Rather than evaluating freshman enrollment rates, the government should assess outcomes such as graduation rates, employment rates, regional settlement rates, and levels of corporate participation, and reduce support for universities with weak performance. At the same time, regulations should be eased so that universities can freely reorganize departments and create joint curricula with companies. A policy that uses tax money to preserve the status quo while preventing the voluntary consolidation or merger of less competitive departments and universities will only delay structural reform rather than resolve the crisis facing regional universities.

Balanced regional development cannot be achieved simply by uniformly eliminating tuition at all regional national universities. The government should focus not on choosing or operating universities in place of students, but on providing students with fair opportunities to choose and removing regulations that hinder university innovation and competition. The most sustainable way to revive regional universities is not price support in the form of “zero tuition,” but raising the quality of education and the value of regional jobs.

2026. 8. 7.

Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

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Original title: 지방 국립대 ‘등록금 0원’, 대학 간 경쟁을 왜곡해선 안 된다

Author: Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

Date: 2026-08-07

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=comment&pn=1&idx=29366