Starting from the first semester of next year, universities will be allowed to raise tuition fees within 1.2 times the average inflation rate over the past three years. This is a reduction from the previous limit of 1.5 times.
The Ministry of Education noted on the 23rd that the 'Higher Education Act Amendment' containing this content was passed in the National Assembly plenary session.
The amendment will be implemented from October 1 of this year. Therefore, it is expected to apply to tuition fees for the first semester of the 2026 academic year.
The upper limit for tuition increases for the 2026 academic year will be announced in December this year, reflecting this year's inflation rate. The upper limit set by the Ministry of Education for this year is 5.49%.
Also, on this day, the Private University Structural Improvement Support Act was passed in the plenary session. This law aims to provide legal foundations for support related to the closure of schools and liquidation of educational foundations due to the declining school-age population, as well as for the protection of students, faculty, and researchers. It is expected to be implemented one year after its promulgation.
A bill to extend the validity period of the Special Account for Early Childhood Education Support by 5 years was also passed in the plenary session that day. It was originally set to expire at the end of December this year but has been extended once again.
Additionally, amendments to the Education Public Officials Act, the Private School Act, and the Education Environment Protection Act were also passed. The amendments to the Education Public Officials Act and the Private School Act include provisions to extend the disciplinary statute of limitations from the current 3 years to 10 years in cases of misconduct that undermines fairness when selecting students for high school admission and entrance into universities (graduate schools). The amendment to the Education Environment Protection Act focuses on restricting the installation and operation of vending machines for liquid-type electronic cigarettes near schools.