College tuition hike cap set at 5.6% for 2024

The statutory limit for next year's college tuition increase has been set at 5.64%, marking a significant increase of 1.59 percentage points from this year. This is the highest rate in 13 years since the introduction of the tuition ceiling system in 2011. It is noteworthy whether the universities that have practically frozen their tuition fees for over a decade will turn to tuition hikes despite the government's reluctance.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Education announced the statutory limit for university tuition increases. Under the current law, university tuition can be raised within the range of '1.5 times the average consumer price index (CPI) increase over the past three years.' With the consumer price index surging to 5.1% in 2022, the average CPI increase from 2021 to 2023 stood at 3.76%. Multiplying this by 1.5 results in a 5.64% cap on tuition increases for the upcoming year. Last year's cap was 1.65%, and this year's was 4.05%. On this day, Vice Minister Oh Seok-hwan of the Ministry of Education called for cooperation in freezing tuition, given the challenging economic conditions such as high inflation and interest rates. However, the possibility of more universities, particularly private institutions, facing financial challenges, considering tuition increases has been raised.


Sung-Min Park min@donga.com