SSU has decided to give scholarships to students who have suffered from COVID-19 to encourage them to continue their studies. Let’s find out about the COVID-19 scholarship and the story behind it with ST. ....... Ed.
Diverse solutions are being introduced to overcome COVID-19. The country has begun providing subsidies to many people to revitalize their livelihoods. Likewise, Korean universities are offering scholarships to undergraduates for smooth, non-face-to-face activities. SSU is no exception. On April 1, 2021, SSU announced that it will provide undergraduates with scholarships to overcome COVID-19 in the first semester of 2021. The one-billion-dollar scholarship fund followed the post-payment method, unlike in the previous year. According to the official table stated in the SSU official website, the value may vary by departments. The least funded departments are the Colleges of Humanities, Law, Social Studies, Business, and Economic Commerce. Each student was paid 66,000 won. On the other hand, undergraduates from the Department of Arts and Creation-Film Arts, received the largest amount, 96,000 won. The value of scholarships for overcoming COVID-19 is not equal because it is proportional to the amount of tuition fee. It is simple to apply for the benefit of Overcoming COVID-19 Support Scholarship. If you enter your own finance account at SSU U-SAINT, you can receive the stated benefits. Moreover, the school ruled that students, who took out student loans from the Korea Scholarship Foundation, the Public Officials Pension Service, and the ROK Armed Forces Financial Management Division, can get their loans reimbursed. Soongsilians, who received benefits from the SSU event, expressed deep satisfaction. SSU explained that the school’s purpose is to encourage undergraduates, who are dealing with uncertainty and confusion from COVID-19 issues, to pursue their interests.
Meanwhile, the SSU scholarship to overcome COVID-19 may serve as a double-edged sword. Since the one-billion-won budget was paid to students, a similar amount known as Special Increase Scholarships fell into a mystery. SSU has specified a provision related to special increase scholarships for three years. In 2018, the student welfare consultation showed that the amount was used for housing support programs and language training. Last year, it announced that half of the one-billionwon was used for special scholarships in relation to COVID-19. However, the 2021 student welfare agreement does not include such information at all. The student council and the school argued that they have not yet decided on the contents of the scholarship due to various discussions related to COVID-19. Regarding the disappearance of the special increase scholarship, the school headquarters has not expressed its position yet (as of May 2021). However, we can assume that the issue will not be investigated thoroughly. The final version of the student welfare agreement for the 2021 school year was announced on March 2, 2021; before the Overcoming COVID-19 Support Scholarship was awarded. Since the amount is used for high-quality education and experience for SSU undergraduates, its whereabouts must be monitored. According to the survey among Soongsilians, they were generally unaware of the existence of such special increase scholarships and related issues. Don’t we need to ring a certain alarm for Soongsilians, and raise awareness on the mysterious issue? ST hope for a quick reply from SSU.
Kim Jin-young (ST Cub-Reporter)
jinyoungkim@soongsil.ac.kr
