Crowded classes plague science schools

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Crowded classes plague science schools

Lecture rooms in science and engineering departments of colleges and graduate schools can be likened to pots of growing bean sprouts ― that is, they’re crowded. Many schools have an average of 40 students in a classroom, about double the number in other developed countries. These circumstances resulted from colleges’ increasing the number of students before they prepared adequate facilities. In another aspect, two-year technical colleges have been unable to find their niche. Caught somewhere between technical high schools and four-year colleges, they are turning into cram schools for college entrance study rather than institutions for nurturing a specialized workforce. The blurred lines among these three sectors show another perspective of the so-called “crisis” situation in Korea for science and engineering. “It’s not unusual for only a few students in the class to participate in lab experiments,” said a Mr. Choi, who attends an engineering college in Seoul. “There are even jokes that a student studying electronics could graduate without touching a single electric circuit board.” A recent survey by the Korea Industrial Technology Foundation of 537 college students and graduates who studied mechanics and electrical engineering showed that 87.3 percent wanted more hands-on education. Students are not the only ones who are displeased with the current system. Studies showed that professors in these fields are overburdened with lectures and that part-time lecturers have about 20 percent more classes to teach than regular professors. Many also point out that schools do not meet society’s needs flexibly. “Departments for which companies have less demand still recruit the same number of students every year, and areas in which society needs more human resources are not enlarged,” said an official at the Federation of Korean Industries. Kim Si-jung, president of the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies, said that colleges should readjust the quotas of their departments according to society’s demand. Meanwhile, technical colleges complain that standard four-year colleges are “stealing” their students. This is because many four-year colleges have similar curriculums as technical colleges and offer advantages for students who studied at technical high schools. At the opposite end are those who think that science education is too unstable. In 2000, one regional college created a computer department but closed it this year because only 10 students applied. A department for textile engineering only drew one applicant. “The government encouraged us to create the department, saying that IT fields would be popular in the future,” a school administrative officer said. “At the time, not only our school, but many schools, added new departments.” Brochures that promote a technical high school in Seoul are handed to middle school students on their way home. “We open the doors to all technical colleges,” the advertisement reads. Students, however, do not seem to be interested. “Getting a job is a thing of the past,” a student said. “The companies that select employees who graduate from technical high schools are all very small and in unrelated fields. I’d rather go to a four-year university.” This year only half the graduates of technical high schools in Seoul went to work after graduation, while the other half went on to academic studies in college. In the 1980s, more than 80 percent of technical high school graduates got jobs. by Special Reporting Team
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