Educational expenses rise at steepest pace since global financial crisis

A student walks past the building of Seoul National University College of Medicine in Seoul, March 3. Yonhap

Park Woong-han, a father to two college students, was shocked when he learned about his sons’ tuitions.

"They have increased at a faster pace than consumer prices," Park said. “I am not fully sure because I don’t keep track of statistical data all the time, but it feels like college tuitions weigh on my household heavier than most other expenses."

Park is not wrong, according to Statistics Korea data released Monday, which showed that educational expenses in March rose at the steepest pace in more than 16 years.

The expenses increased by 2.9 percent from a year earlier, marking the highest level since February 2009, when the figure went up 4.8 percent year-on-year during the global financial crisis.

Educational expenses rose sharper than overall consumer prices in March, which climbed 2.1 percent from the year before.

“The 2.9 percent increase is largely attributable to hikes in college tuitions, mainly driven by private schools, which prompted public schools to take the same measure,” Statistics Korea said.

It said the costs to attend private universities went up 5.2 percent in March from a year earlier, the steepest gain since 7.1 percent in February 2009.

Tuitions at public schools also rose 1 percent last month after remaining unchanged for the past three years.

The hike in college expenses influenced the costs of attending graduate school as well.

For instance, tuitions for graduate programs at private universities and public universities ticked up 3.4 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.

Such cost increases were the highest since February 2009. Back then, the tuitions went up 6.5 percent at private universities’ graduate programs and 7.8 percent at public universities’ graduate programs.

The agency expects higher college expenses “may exacerbate unstable inflation,” noting that it pulled up consumer prices in March by 0.21 percentage point.

It also pointed out that private educational spending for elementary, middle and high school students, as well as preschool children, is on an upward trajectory.

The cost of attending kindergartens surged 4.3 percent last month, marking the steepest hike since February 2016, when it gained 8.4 percent.