An increased number of college students from low-income families will be eligible for state scholarships as the government sets aside a larger amount of its budget to help reduce college tuition fees, the Education Ministry said Sunday.

Last September, the government announced its plan to increase tuition support in next years’ budget to 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) from the previous level of around 300 billion won, following up on its earlier pledge to cut tuition fees by 21 percent for students from lower-income families.

Current students from families in the bottom 70 percent income group are advised to apply for scholarships for their tuition for the first semester next year starting Monday to Dec. 30 at the Korea Student Aid Foundation.

Those who earned a grade of above average, or 80 points out of 100, are entitled to the financial support, which will cover 20 to 100 percent of their tuition fees.

Disabled students from the same income bracket will qualify for the scholarships if they earn at least 70 points.

Freshmen from lower-income families can apply for the support for two weeks in March next year, with the beneficiaries being determined based upon their average grades during high school and the national college entrance exam conducted last month. 

(Yonhap News)