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Wed, April 21, 2021 | 07:15
’Autonomous’ schools drawing fewer students
'지원 0명' 동양고, 자율고 첫 지정취소
Posted : 2011-11-25 18:19
Updated : 2011-11-25 18:19
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A woman walks past the main gate of Dongyang High School in Gangseo-gu, southwestern Seoul, one of the 26 "autonomous" schools in Seoul, Friday. The school decided to drop the status after failing to attract even one new student for the 2012 academic year. Yonhap

By Na Jeong-ju

The education ministry is facing growing calls to scale down its project to nurture so-called autonomous private high schools as many of them have failed to draw enough students.

According to the ministry, 11 of the 26 autonomous schools in Seoul received fewer applications than the quota for the 2012 academic year. Dongyang High School in Gangseo, southwestern Seoul, couldn’t accept even one new student because there were no applications. It initially planned to select 280.

Enrollments at Yongmoon High School in Seongbuk, northeastern Seoul, were also 40 percent short of its quota, forcing a raise in tuition for existing pupils. The school received fewer students than the quota for the second consecutive year.

School officials say the low popularity of autonomous schools derives from the ministry’s half-baked policy.

The ministry has designated 51 private high schools nationwide as autonomous schools since early 2009 to diversify high school education, widen choices for students and increase competition. The creation of the schools was one of President Lee Myung-bak’s key pledges during the 2007 presidential campaign.

After Lee’s inauguration in early 2008, the ministry unveiled a plan to set up 100 autonomous schools by 2012. However, education officials recently said they won’t stick to the numerical goal, suggesting that the original plan could be readjusted.

“The biggest problem is that too many autonomous schools were set up in a short period of time. It is true that some of them are popular, but most are having difficulty in drawing enough students,” a teacher at Dongyang said.

Dongyang and Yongmoon high schools plan to file a petition with the ministry soon to cancel their status as autonomous schools.

The schools can enjoy greater autonomy compared to other ordinary high schools in terms of tuition, curriculum and teacher recruitment without financial aid from the government. They usually charge three times more tuition than regular high schools.

However, they are banned from recruiting students through written tests or interviews. They instead rely on school records and recommendations, and use a lottery system for their selections. In addition, 20 percent of the students must come from underprivileged families.

Despite the negative outlook for such schools, the ministry remains confident that their existence will help improve the overall quality of education. A ministry official said Thursday that the government will provide financial and administrative support for struggling autonomous schools if the situation doesn’t improve.

Experts say the government’s false prediction of demand for autonomous schools has put the country’s high school education at risk.

“It’s time to revise the existing policy and start from scratch before it is too late,” said Kim Seung-hyun, a spokesman for a Seoul-based civic group making efforts to reduce households’ burden of private tutoring.

“It’s important for the government to admit that its autonomous school policy has failed and seek better options to normalize high school education.”



'지원 0명' 동양고, 자율고 첫 지정취소
교육부가 신입생 모집에서 충분한 지원자를 모집하지 못하는 자율형사립고 (자율고)가 많아짐에 따라 교육부의 자율고 육성 프로젝트를 축소해야 한다는 요구에 직면하고 있다. 2012학년도 신입생 모집에서 지원자가 없었던 서울 동양고는 사상 첫 자율형사립고(자율고) 지정취소 대상이 될 것으로 보인다. 서울의 또다른 자율고인 용문고도 추가 모집 후 지원율이 여전히 낮으면 자율고 지정 취소 절차를 밟을 가능성이 크다. 서울시교육청은 지난 23일 마감한 2012학년도 신입생 모집에서 지원자가 한 명도 없었던 동양고가 내년 1월 2차 추가모집 기간이 끝난 뒤 일반고로 전환하기 위해 자율고 지정취소 신청을 하겠다는 방침을 전해왔다고 24일 밝혔다. 교육과학기술부는 동양고가 자율고 지정 취소를 신청하면 받아들이겠다고 밝혔다. 이에 따라 동양고는 2010년 3월 자율고가 도입된 이래 전국적으로 운영되고 있는 51개 자율고 중 지정이 취소되는 첫 사례가 될 것으로 보인다.
Emailjj@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter









 
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