Elite high school controversy heats up

Parents of students attending autonomous schools march toward the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in protest against the move to abolish “elite schools,” on June 26. / Korea Times photo by Shin Sang-soon

By Kim Bo-eun

President Moon Jae-in’s appointment of his education minister Wednesday will likely expedite his drive to overhaul the elite high school system, fueling the debate over the issue.

As a means to provide equal education, Moon pledged to turn the elite high schools _ including foreign language, international and autonomous high schools _ into regular schools.

The appointment of Kim Sang-kon, former liberal education superintendent of Gyeonggi Province and deviser of Moon’s education policies, as education minister has probably set the fate of these schools.

The plan has the support of liberal superintendents _ Gyeonggi Province’s Lee Jae-joung and Seoul’s Cho Hee-yeon have been at the forefront of the move.

Lee said he will not approve the status of these schools in coming evaluations. Cho, on the other hand, says the system of elite schools should be abolished through law changes.

This has prompted a fierce backlash from the schools and the parents of students.

Elite high schools

Daewon Foreign Language High School was established in 1984 as the nation’s first school specializing in foreign languages. By the late 1980s, it was a route for students to enter prestigious universities. In the 1990s, foreign language high schools were authorized as “special purpose high schools.”

The Kim Dae-jung administration introduced private schools with autonomy in 2001 to diversify education under the system of equalized high school education. The autonomous high school system was fine-tuned under the following Lee Myung-bak administration.

Autonomous schools have freedom in choosing their own curriculum, personnel management and admissions. The schools are subject to regional education office evaluation every five years.

Elite schools account for 2 percent of 2,500 high schools nationwide.

Dispute

The debate over these schools is centered on whether they are living up to their purpose of providing diverse education or whether they have merely become a means to enter top universities.

Advocates say these schools are necessary to prepare students for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. They say instead of removing them, their shortcomings should be complemented.

The schools have been designed to cultivate diverse strengths such as foreign languages and extra-curricular activities.

“A uniform education system which does not allow diversity at private schools can become a serious factor that weakens the nation’s competiveness,” Oh Se-mok, principal of Joongdong High School, an autonomous high school, said.

However, critics say that under the status quo, the schools are focused on sending as many students to top universities as possible. Besides the College Scholastic Aptitude Test (CSAT), there are other forms of recruitment to select students based on certain skills such as foreign language ability or other activities.

“The schools have strengthened education based on college entrance and have established a hierarchy in the high school system,” civic group World Without Worries about Shadow Education said.

Another factor that irks critics is that the elite schools are able to recruit students ahead of regular schools, which results in them accepting most of the best students.

“Most of the regular schools are unable to accept high-performing students, and many freshmen at regular schools feel inferior as they begin high school,” the civic group said.

It claims this has resulted in the overall quality of education at regular schools falling.

Another key reason the Moon administration is aiming to abolish elite schools is that they intensify private education at middle school level. Autonomous high schools say this is untrue, as applicants for autonomous high schools do not take exams. They are selected based on their academic records from middle school, a cover letter and interview.

But students also receive private tutoring when drawing up their cover letters and getting ready for interviews.

In addition, tuition costs at elite schools are considerably higher than regular high schools.

Critics say this results in a polarization of education between the haves and have-nots _ only those who can afford private education and high tuition costs have access to elite education.

Parents of students are opposed to the schools being abolished, as the schools will lose their prestige and this could adversely affect networking with graduates.

Around 2,300 parents of students at 23 autonomous high schools gathered in downtown Seoul on June 26 to protest against the plan.

“Students have fallen victim to changing education policies,” they said.

An association of 18 civic groups picketed in front of the education ministry building in Sejong on Wednesday, urging the government to carry out its pledge to abolish elite schools.

Meanwhile, execution of the plan is set to take time. The education minister said at his National Assembly hearing it should be carried out while taking into account the opinions of schools, parents and students.