Education Ministry looks to implement key reforms
Hwang Woo-yea
Cho Jae-ik, who heads the Public Education Promotion Division under the Education Ministry, said earlier this week that the plan is intended to “restrain prerequisite learning,” which is often administered at hagwon, or private cram schools.
Tests conducted at elementary, middle and high schools will also be examined with the same aim, Cho said.
The inspection on college admission exams, with the focus on essays and interviews, is backed by domestic laws that prohibit schools from encouraging students to study ahead of their current level. Penalties for college departments that disregarded the Public Education Normalization Promotion Special Law may include a suspension on student recruiting.
The announcement made on Thursday was part of five key educational reform measures the government aims to prioritize this year.
Another reform measure was to stabilize regional education finances, by persuading schools with a lack of students to voluntarily shut down. The central government will push forward with this idea by subsidizing municipal and provincial education offices based on the number of students.
“The emphasis in reforming the regional educational budget isn’t on downsizing the very amount [of funds],” said Hwang Woo-yea, deputy prime minister for social affairs and education minister. “Rather, it’s about upgrading the quality of education by filtering out inefficiencies [in the current system.]”
In the case of the Nuri program, the state-subsidized free day care plan for children ages 3 to 5, the educational authority said it will amend laws that would require education offices nationwide to offer and run the system.
The Nuri program has proven a thorny issue in the political arena after the central government said it would reduce its funding for the educational welfare project, prompting regional governments to threaten to discontinue it, citing financial constraints.
Also mentioned on Thursday was a plan to increase the number of facilities that provide career-building programs for students that would pave the way for the “free semester system” next year at middle schools across Korea.
The activity-oriented semester is designed to teach students in different ways - through discussions, outdoor activities and team projects, for instance - and places less emphasis on test scores.
Another reform measure mentioned was the establishment this year of 10 additional high schools, referred to as academic-industrial specialized high schools, in which students spend half their time gaining hands-on experience at places they wish to work after graduation.
Universities that establish departments with curricula most fitted with the skill sets required in local industries will also be given financial incentives from the central government, the educational authority said.
BY LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)