The Education Ministry and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy have decided to work together to promote the restructuring of universities.

Education Minister Lee Ju-ho and Ministry of Knowledge Economy Minister Choi Joong-kyung reached the agreement in a meeting on Wednesday.

The decision comes amid rising public calls that universities should first restructure before demanding government subsidies in return for cutting their tuition fees.

Accordingly, the agreement includes a government plan to reject subsidy requests by universities that are on the verge of bankruptcy.

The Education Ministry had limited the provision of student loans to 23 insolvent universities that have a low employment rate among graduates and too small of a student enrollment. However, it has been criticized for the poor management of bankrupt universities, since government subsidies worth 11-point-six billion won were awarded to them.