In order to compensate for the infringement of learning rights due to coronavirus infection-19, Konkuk University decided to reduce the tuition fee for the next semester and decided the return rate.

Konkuk University and the student council held the 11th Tuition Deliberation Committee today (30th) and agreed to return 8.3% of tuition for the second semester.

Students of the humanities department receive 290,000 won, engineering and arts and science classes of 360,000 won, and veterinary science classes of 390,000 won.

However, considering that there will be blind spots such as scholarship students and graduates in the next semester, we decided to pay 100,000 won in cash to all 15,000 students in the first semester this year, based on the undergraduate students at Seoul Campus.

Students who are not full scholarship students can receive the remaining amount from the tuition fee for each department or by bank transfer, depending on their choice.

The Konkuk University Student Association asked the school for a partial refund of the tuition fees in April when the spread of Corona 19 made it impossible to proceed with the normal academic schedule.

The university headquarters was in a position that it was difficult for the government to refund the registration fee for the 2020 school year, which was already determined, in cash.

However, after reviewing the results of the'Survey on the Participation Tuition Refund due to Infringement of Study Rights', which was attended by about 4,000 students, it was said that they promised to "provide a monetary compensation plan equivalent to a refund".

After discussion, the University Headquarters and the General Student Association agreed to the'Refundability Notice Reduction Scholarship' plan, which the school will cut a certain amount of money when the first semester enrolls for the next semester.

The school initially offered a total of KRW 3.6 billion in refunds, but secured additional resources in response to the student council's'insufficient compensation for damages' and increased the amount of return to KRW 4.4 billion.

The student council also has budgets allocated by the school to support academic activities.

In some cases, some universities in Daegu paid a special scholarship of 100,000 to 200,000 won in cash to all enrolled students, but Konkuk University was the first to decide to cut tuition fees to compensate for infringement of learning rights.

An official from Konkuk University said, "We increased the return scale by maximizing the budget related to the students, which was set based on the normal semester." I think it makes sense."

Meanwhile, college students' demand for tuition refunds has been increasing, leading to class action lawsuits.

The National University Student Network plans to bring a'class tuition return class action lawsuit' against the Ministry of Education and universities tomorrow.

A total of 3,951 people participated in recruiting litigators online.

(Photo = Yonhap News)