10 Universities of Education will see a 12% decrease in enrollment seats

Starting with next year's university entrance examination for current high school seniors, there will be 12% fewer seats in 10 universities of Education and two universities’ departments of Primary Education. This is the first time in 13 years that the number of seats for elementary teacher education institutions has been reduced in response to low fertility.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Education announced the 'Plan to Optimize the Size of Elementary Teacher Training.' According to the plan, starting next year, the number of seats at 10 schools will be reduced by 12 percent. This includes Seoul National University of Education, from 355 to 312; Gyeongin National University of Education, from 598 to 526; and Busan National University of Education, from 356 to 313. Additionally, the Department of Elementary Education at Korea National University of Education will be reduced by 12 percent, from 111 to 98, and the Department of Elementary Education at Jeju National University from 114 to 100. However, Ewha Womans University's Department of Elementary Education, with 39 students, is already the smallest, so it will be left to its own discretion. If Ewha Womans University does not participate in the reduction, the total number of seats for next year's 13 universities of education and elementary education departments will be reduced by 457, from 3,847 to 3,390.

The government's reduction in teacher training comes as the school-age population decline is in full swing. Due to low fertility, the number of elementary school enrollments fell below 300,000 for the first time this year. The number of elementary school students is expected to drop by another 30 percent over the next five years.

The cuts are expected to continue in the coming years. “For now, we have decided to maintain next year's size until the 2026 school year,” said a ministry official. “We believe there is still room for adjustment after that.”

To ensure that universities do not face difficulties in operations due to reductions in enrollment seats, the Ministry of Education will consider their efforts to reduce enrollment seats when eval‎dating incentives for the National University Development Project.


Ye-Na Choi yena@donga.com