By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) made an official proposal to the Korean education ministry Thursday to allow Korean students to attend schools at its camp in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.
The plan was unveiled when USFK Commander Gen. Walter Sharp met Education, Science and Technology Minister Ahn Byong-man in Seoul, ministry officials said.
Pyeongtaek will accommodate a new centralized U.S, base here.
In return for enrollment of Korean students at the base schools that will adopt the American education curriculum, the Korean government was asked to share a certain amount of the cost involved in building the schools.
The Korean government has yet to respond to the proposal. ``We cannot say anything for now but Minister Ahn listened to the commander,'' an official, who declined to be named, said.
Under current education laws, no Korean student is entitled to enroll in Department of Defense (DoD) schools on American military bases.
Another official said ``legalizing the admission of Korean students into U.S. schools will not be easy. In addition, we need approval from the National Assembly to share the construction cost for the new base schools.''
According to officials at Yongsan Garrison, Seoul, there are four Korean students attending the DoD school there with ``waiver'' documents authorized by the Korean education ministry.
A number of Korea students are attending base schools after being ``adopted'' by USFK employees for education purposes, according to school teachers and parents.
Regarding ``waiver documents'' that DoD schools claim the Korean government issued for the enrollment of Korean children, ministry officials said the documents might have been fabricated by adoption brokers.
``The ministry can only request the U.S. schools to return them to Korean schools and it is up to U.S. government whether they investigate the possible document fabrication,'' he said.
Early this month, the USFK chief also said Korean students could make up to 15-20 percent of the total admission quota in new DoD schools during a meeting with lawmakers of the National Assembly Defense Committee (NADC). The proposal has already been reported to Cheong Wa Dae, according to the office of Rep. Kim Hak-song, chief of the NADC.
kswho@koreatimes.co.kr
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