Drastic measures needed to uproot irregularities
The Ministry of Education has announced the results of its audit into law school admissions over the last three years. The probe found a total of 24 cases in which successful law school applicants disclosed the occupations or the social positions of their parents and relatives in their self-introduction essays. Among them, the ministry found five cases in which the applicants wrote about their parents' jobs in detail so that the law schools could see that their parents were in high-ranking positions.
There has been speculation that children of high-ranking legal professionals have received special treatment in entering law schools by writing down their family's personal histories. And the ministry's findings have proved that such speculation is true.
According to the education ministry, a considerable number of the 24 successful applicants in question violated the basic admissions rule of the law schools barring them from disclosing their family backgrounds. It is presumed that they had the intent of gaining favorable interest from admissions officers, given that they violated the admission rule.
Even so, the education ministry stopped short of penalizing the students such as the cancellation of their admissions, citing a lack of evidence. The fact is that education officials failed to take stringent measures on the grounds that it's next to impossible to confirm the causal relationship between the disclosure of family backgrounds and the passing of entrance exams at the nation's 25 law schools.
Such apparently unfair admissions to law schools have been made possible because the admissions process has been conducted opaquely. Admissions to law schools are determined by bar scores, English test scores, self-introductory essays and interviews. But the schools are not obliged to disclose how much each criterion is weighed in the admissions process, keeping students and their parents in the dark.
Even more deplorable is that there have been no uniform guidelines for how to write the self-introduction essays. Of the 13 law schools found to have problems in their admissions procedures, seven had no clause barring applicants from writing about their family history.
The education ministry's latest findings are not sufficient enough to clear suspicions that have been raised so far. Given that the annual quota at law schools reaches 2,000, the results of the audit so far are sure to be just the tip of the iceberg. Against this backdrop, the education authorities aroused a storm of public wrath by not disclosing the names of the parents and the institutions, citing privacy concerns.
The ministry ordered all 25 law schools to bar applicants from writing about their family's background in their essays and disqualify applicants who violate the rule. But it's doubtful if such a half-baked precautionary measure will prevent admissions irregularities ― there must be a broad-based overhaul.
What is needed urgently is to oblige law schools to transparently make public the materials related to admissions and to undergo regular audits. There is no question that people's confidence in the schools won't improve without ensuring fairness in admissions. The education ministry should come up with drastic measures to make the admissions far more transparent.
The Ministry of Education has announced the results of its audit into law school admissions over the last three years. The probe found a total of 24 cases in which successful law school applicants disclosed the occupations or the social positions of their parents and relatives in their self-introduction essays. Among them, the ministry found five cases in which the applicants wrote about their parents' jobs in detail so that the law schools could see that their parents were in high-ranking positions.
There has been speculation that children of high-ranking legal professionals have received special treatment in entering law schools by writing down their family's personal histories. And the ministry's findings have proved that such speculation is true.
According to the education ministry, a considerable number of the 24 successful applicants in question violated the basic admissions rule of the law schools barring them from disclosing their family backgrounds. It is presumed that they had the intent of gaining favorable interest from admissions officers, given that they violated the admission rule.
Even so, the education ministry stopped short of penalizing the students such as the cancellation of their admissions, citing a lack of evidence. The fact is that education officials failed to take stringent measures on the grounds that it's next to impossible to confirm the causal relationship between the disclosure of family backgrounds and the passing of entrance exams at the nation's 25 law schools.
Such apparently unfair admissions to law schools have been made possible because the admissions process has been conducted opaquely. Admissions to law schools are determined by bar scores, English test scores, self-introductory essays and interviews. But the schools are not obliged to disclose how much each criterion is weighed in the admissions process, keeping students and their parents in the dark.
Even more deplorable is that there have been no uniform guidelines for how to write the self-introduction essays. Of the 13 law schools found to have problems in their admissions procedures, seven had no clause barring applicants from writing about their family history.
The education ministry's latest findings are not sufficient enough to clear suspicions that have been raised so far. Given that the annual quota at law schools reaches 2,000, the results of the audit so far are sure to be just the tip of the iceberg. Against this backdrop, the education authorities aroused a storm of public wrath by not disclosing the names of the parents and the institutions, citing privacy concerns.
The ministry ordered all 25 law schools to bar applicants from writing about their family's background in their essays and disqualify applicants who violate the rule. But it's doubtful if such a half-baked precautionary measure will prevent admissions irregularities ― there must be a broad-based overhaul.
What is needed urgently is to oblige law schools to transparently make public the materials related to admissions and to undergo regular audits. There is no question that people's confidence in the schools won't improve without ensuring fairness in admissions. The education ministry should come up with drastic measures to make the admissions far more transparent.
![[INTERVIEW] Ecolab helps Korean partners profit from ESG management](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/7a924189dbb7426ab12275ba98702309.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[ANALYSIS] Has N. Korean leader's daughter been confirmed as heir apparent?](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/e65868a1b5834cc3aef853378637d1fd.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] 'Lifeline for migrant workers in Korea' - Rev. Kim fights for foreign employees' rights](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/8fb4b5d381da49df90276394550f2889.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Korea to work with US, Japan to fight climate change](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/800d9054a14b4a0f9cc576366cc1b914.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[REVIEW] Preview gala sets stage for grand premiere of 'La Rose de Versailles' musical](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/c7528d2924cd43c8a469cd46e6f56127.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
