By Kim Rahn Staff Reporter Universities will be able to select students according to their own guidelines as the incoming administration has made it clear that it will give them more autonomy. The exact timetable for the phased liberalization of the college admission system has yet to be decided. The transition team's spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said Wednesday that colleges will be given discretion in stages in the selection of students, reaffirming the downscaling of the regulation-oriented Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development. President-elect Lee Myung-bak has pledged a three-stage change in college admission: First, each university will have discretion in weighing students' high school records and the state-run College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT); second, the number of CSAT subjects will be decreased from the current seven to around five; and last, colleges will have full autonomy in student recruitment. The ministry's functions in admission policy will be transferred to the Korean Council for University Education, comprised of a group of university presidents, next month when the transition team concludes its government reorganization plan, the spokesman said. ``For high school and college education, universities will have more autonomy, and regional educational offices, not the education ministry, will supervise elementary and middle schools,'' he said. The transition committee has not decided when to implement the first stage, and will make the decision by early next month. In line with this blueprint, the ministry is expected to undergo a total reorganization, or even face dissolution. ``Some parts of the ministry's functions should be reduced, and some others need to be merged with those of the labor, and science and technology ministries,'' the spokesman said. The transition committee also demanded the ministry come up with measures to improve the current CSAT system, which causes confusion for students, as it does not offer raw scores but divides students into nine grades, by early February, after collecting experts' opinions. The ministry, in a report to the transition team, said that the CSAT issue should be reviewed over the next two to three years and that the Lee administration should be careful in implementing the second- and third-stage education reform plans, while the team plans to draw its general reform plan by February. The transition team spokesman said the Lee administration will set up about 300 government-subsidized elite high schools and specialized vocational high schools to stress diversity in education. The plan symbolizes Korea's emphasis on egalitarianism to elitism and diversity in education policy. rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr