I strongly support the idea of the government’s half-tuition plan. Over a decade, college students have been putting tremendous tuition fees from the starting point to the end of over 4 years of studying. It doesn't mean that we are so rich that we don't care about over 10,000,000 won spent on education. There are over 1,000 students who are indeed seeking the way out of debt. Between 2006 and 2010, college fees rose 28 percent, well above general inflation for the period of 16 percent. The average annual tuition fees are now 4.4 million won ($4,060) for a public college and 7.7 million for a private institution. Both parties now agree on half-price fees though dispute over the scope of the plan and bud get continues. So, there are two reasons for why i go for half tuition fee plan.
First, government's support for college education is necessary to ensure an equality of educational opportunity, a right specified in Article 4 of our framework Act on Education: (1) No citizen shall be treated with discrimination in education for reasons of sex, religion, faith, race, social standing, economic status or physical conditions, etc. (2) The state and local governments shall prepare and implement policies for minimizing gaps in educational conditions, such as supply and demand of teacher.; among the regions, to enable learners to gain access to equal opportunities in education. Second of all, given the present realities, It is unfair to impose tuition as an exclusively individual burden. The high tuition creates a barrier to entry people in the poor class. The national Association of Professors for Democratic Society also said the tuition should not be more than what the national universities charge so that the underprivileged can also get a shot at becoming medical or law professionals. The Education Ministry acknowledges the problem of high tuitions but said it cannot increase the limit of loans due to the possibility that some students may not be able to repay their debts. Although the ministry is about co introduce a new student loan System where the government guarantees loans and makes them directly to students instead of backing loans provided by private lenders via government subsidies, the half tuition fee is crucial. Lastly, Finland is well-known as an educationally advanced nation, which, like our country, had great difficulties rebuilding its national system because of its long-lasting son, Finland was able to perfect its educational system, in the belief that each individual’s ability is highly important and to be cherished. And what about Korea, which is very similar to Finland in many aspects? In Korea, university students must work part-time jobs in order to continue studying. As government has always emphasized, Korea’s only true natural resource is its human capital. Accordingly, in the interest of national development, we have no choice but to invest in our people, that is, education.
In conclusion, government's support for college education is vital. The country really needs that help to overcome the imbalance problem. So I support the idea of half-tuition plan and hope the government initiates the solving process by working with school officers.
Dept. of English Language & Literature