By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
About a month before President-elect Lee Myung-bak's inauguration, his transition team had already dropped a bomb in the educational circle, indicating a sweeping change to the nation's education landscape. Uncertainties abound about how the changes will affect students progress. Many parents and schoolteachers are already scratching their heads, wondering how they should cope with the upcoming changes.
The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development suggested Wednesday a series of drastic policies with regard to university admission, reformation of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) and deregulation of primary and secondary education.
If the proposals take effect as planned, the decision rights on university admission policy, now under government control, will be handed over to the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE). It means universities will be virtually left to select students in the way they see fit.
Since 1982, KCUE has served as a representative of universities in Korea. Currently, it has a total of 201 universities as its members.
The incoming administration will revamp primary and secondary education systems. The education ministry has held a tight grip on policies regarding elite high schools such as science and foreign language high schools, alleging that they would exacerbate the already-crumbled public education. But this approach is likely to be changed completely since the next government plans to transfer the administrative authority on special schools to regional education offices.
Education experts and people concerned show mixed reactions over a series of innovative agendas.
Baik Sung-gi, 59, president of POSTECH, said, ``It is a desirable decision. In addition, the new government should come up with policies supporting the decisions to make them work well.''
But some education administrators remain concerned over the decisions, alleging giving too much power at once will cause problems.
``KCUE has served as a rubber stamp of the government. The council needs to reshape itself to become an organization controlling the hypersensitive college admission process,'' said Kim Young-sik, administration head of KCUE.
A private high school teacher expressed concerns that Lee's reform plan will negatively affect the public education that has been already crumbling. ``Private cram schools will flourish, raising costs for parents and further weakening public education.''
Sohn Byung-doo, president of Sogang University in Seoul who will take office as chairman of KCUE from April, said ``we welcome the ministry's decision. It will serve as a steppingstone for Korean universities to leap toward world class level in the years to come.''
The shakeup on CSAT will have a huge impact on Korean education. President-elect Lee 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.