Funding plans for universities with undecided major students face backlash

"We will give universities more time to prepare for the change, carrying out the plan step-by-step after carefully assessing the situation and whether universities are fully ready," Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho said.

Education Minister Lee Ju-ho announces education policies for this year on Wednesday, including changes in the plan to offer funding to universities that increase the number of undecided major students. [YONHAP]

Plans to fund universities that select more undecided major students were altered following public backlash, with other factors to also be taken into consideration.

"We will give universities more time to prepare for the change, carrying out the plan step-by-step after carefully assessing the situation and whether universities are fully ready," Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho said during a press conference held Wednesday night. “We are going to aim that universities select 25 percent of its student quota as undecided students, but we will still be offering funding to those that fail to meet the quota."

"We aren't stepping back from our plan, but rather listening to the universities that requested that we be more flexible."

According to a draft of the University Innovation Support Project, the Ministry of Education was planning to offer 354 billion won ($272 million) in funding to universities that increase the number of students they accept as undecided majors.

The plan gave universities two options to be eligible for the funding. One option was to admit 5 percent of the incoming class as undecided majors in 2025, with the other option allowing universities to admit 20 percent of students as undecided majors in 2025, but only allowing students to select a major within their designated academic discipline.

Instead of only using the number of undecided major students as the assessment criteria, the ministry will now be taking other factors into consideration when deciding which universities get the funding.

The criteria will assess how the universities offered more learning options such as availability of career training programs. Specific details will be announced by the Education Ministry around the end of January.

However, the Education Ministry isn't entirely abandoning the plan to increase the number of students with undecided majors.

The ministry aims to announce plans to encourage universities to increase the number of undecided majors for the 2026 academic year around the second half of this year.

The change follows strong opposition from university officials, especially those in the humanities fields.

The Association of Humanities Deans of National Universities and the Association of Humanities Deans of Private Universities held a press conference Wednesday, requesting the ministry stop its plan to fund universities that increase undecided students.

"The Education Ministry's plan is meant to offer more choices to students, but it is unclear if that will be the case considering how students have a strong tendency toward the popular majors," Kang Chang-uh, head of the Association of Humanities Deans of National Universities, said during the press conference. "Rather than students choosing majors they really want to pursue, there is a very big chance that they will only choose popular majors."

Regarding concerns that undecided students will be reluctant to choose subjects in humanities and arts, the Education Ministry spokesperson said that "the importance of those fields will be emphasized when the increase of undecided major students highlights the need for interdisciplinary studies."

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]