Universities across South Korea including those prestigious schools in Seoul have decided to reduce the size of admissions to deal with falling enrollments amid plummeting birth rates.

According to the Ministry of Education, 96 or 29 percent of 331 universities nationwide have decided to cut their total enrollment quotas by 16,197 until 2025 as part of the government-led college restructuring plan. The total reduction size is equivalent to the closure of four to five universities in the country.

The voluntary participants include 22 universities and colleges in Seoul and metropolitan areas, including Korea University and Kookmin University, and Seoul National University of Science and Technology, and 74 provincial universities.

The participating universities will receive financial assistance worth 140 billion won ($100.14 million) from the government this year, apart from regular annual support.

The government enforced mandatory restructuring programs in 2015 and 2018 to scale down college student quotas, targeting universities in remote areas that failed to meet annual enrollment quotas. It is the first time that prestigious universities in Seoul are joining the move.

The nationwide college restructuring is expected to gain further traction as Korea is grappling with its plunging birth rates.

Asia’s fourth largest economy reported its total fertility rate fell to 0.75 in the second quarter, with fewer than 60,000 new births, the lowest level for a second quarter since the related date compilation began in 1981. If this trend continues, the country’s total fertility rate may fall below 0.8 this year, already the lowest among the OECD member countries.

By Jeon Hyung-min and Jenny Lee

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