The Education Ministry on Sunday announced that it has capped college tuition hikes for next year at 1.7 percent, down from 2.4 percent this year.

It marked the fourth straight fall of the maximum tuition increase rate. Ministry officials said the rate took into consideration recent inflation rates.

The tuition increase cap is restricted by law to 1.5 times the average inflation rate of the previous three years. The average inflation rate for 2013-2015 marked 1.1 percent.

The government is planning to ask local colleges to refrain from raising their tuitions, as former Education Minister Hwang Woo-yea did last year. The Park Geun-hye administration has been carrying out a “half-price” tuition policy, which centers on freezing or reducing tuition rates while expanding the state-funded scholarship programs.


By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)