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| Lee Joon-sik, who was sworn in as education minister Wednesday, speaks during a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly in this Jan. 7 file photo. / Yonhap |
By Kim Se-jeong
New Education Minister Lee Joon-sik, who was sworn in Wednesday, faces daunting tasks which have recently sparked controversy.
Lee is expected to first deal with the Nuri Curriculum, a free preschool program for children aged three to five, which began in 2013. The program, one of President Park Geun-hye's campaign pledges, is now on the verge of collapse amid intensifying conflict between the ministry and 17 education offices.
The education ministry vowed not to hand out support, while the education offices protest the program can't go on without financial backing from central government. Many education offices failed to draw up a budget for this year's program, and even if they were to set aside money this week, parents of students will not benefit in some regions.
The new minister has already received criticism from regional educators for a remark he made that he would pressure education offices to continue the program during his confirmation hearing.
During the hearing, Lee's qualifications were questioned. He said the free preschool program was a welfare policy supervised by the Ministry of Health and Welfare alone. In reality, both the health and education ministries are responsible for the program, with the health ministry responsible for daycare centers and the education ministry for kindergartens.
According to the ministry, Lee will meet superintendents from education offices, Jan. 18, to detail the legal interpretations and financial conditions.
The controversy over the state-authored history textbooks will also gain momentum. The National Institute of Korean History will likely belatedly announce the guidelines which 46 authors will use in writing the books for middle and high schools. The minister already stated his strong support for the project.
"I believe the state authoring textbooks is the right thing to do," Lee said during the hearing. "Who writes them isn't so important. To me, what's more important is their content - to keep it neutral and unbiased."
Critics of the project said a single textbook will rob students of the freedom to learn different perspectives. Also, they said the government is only interested in embellishing the legacy of former dictator Park Chung-hee, the father of the incumbent President.
Students will start using the textbooks in the spring semester next year, and the books are expected to be written by November.
Despite the fierce opposition, the ministry went ahead with the plan, recruiting a group of authors but refusing to reveal their identities. It said the anonymity was to keep the authors independent and free, while critics say secrecy only reinforces the invalidity of the project.
Reform of higher education is also one of the minister's priorities. The ministry has been spearheading efforts to consolidate universities in recent years, and also pushing for them to form close ties with the private sector. The new minister had pursued a similar goal during his time at Seoul National University.
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