Conflicts escalate over state-run test

By Kang Shin-who

Staff reporter

Conflict between the central government and local education offices is deepening over the state-run standardized tests for elementary and secondary school students.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology plans to conduct the academic achievement tests nationwide on July 13 and 14, as part of its efforts to bring fresh competition among schools and boost academic capability.

However, some local education offices, headed by progressive education superintendents, are opposing the tests, claiming they will cause "undue competition" among students.

Amid escalating discord, the ministry has sent an official warning letter to the Jeollabuk-do Office of Education, arguing that the operation of an alternative program aiming to replace or invalidate the test is against the Education Law.

The letter said the heads of education offices have to comply with the standardized assessments, unless they have a valid excuse, under the Primary and Secondary Education Law.

The ministry's move came after Kim Seung-hwa, the education superintendent of the southwestern provincial office, instructed each school in the province, to allow students who don't want to take the exam to take part in alternative programs.

Officials from the education office, sandwiched between the central government and their chief educator, are perplexed about the growing discord.

"We never discourage students from taking the standardized exam. We've just requested schools to offer alternative programs for those who don't want the test," an official in charge of the assessment at the provincial education office told The Korea Times.

On the education ministry's policy against the alternative programs, the official, who asked to remain anonymous, just said, "I am very troubled."

Complaints from parents

Gangwon-do Office of Education sent out a letter allowing parents and students to choose whether to take the tests or not.

Liberal top educators of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education also disagree with the state-administered exams, although they have yet to issue any instructions on the tests.

The ministry plans to discipline students regardless of whether they skip the exams intentionally or not. Also, teachers allowing their students to skip the tests will face punishment. A number of teachers who protested the new evaluations were fired last year.

Some schools are also in conflict with parents over the schools' decision to ban students from going abroad for language programs during the test period.

"Some school principals are following the ministry's guidelines too rigidly; they need to adopt them flexibly depending on each student's individual situation. This rigid observation is resulting in clashes between some parents and schools," a school teacher said.

Many members of the progressive teachers' union plan to boycott the test, shrugging off the authorities' demand that they should not allow students to skip the test.

일제고사 논란 확산

교육과학기술부는 오는 13~14일에 치뤄질 예정인 학업성취도평가를 거부하는 교육감들에게 법적 조치를 경고하며 논란이 일고 있다.

교과부는 6일 전북 도교육청에 일제고사를 대체할 프로그램을 실시할 경우 교육법 위반임을 경고한다는 내용의 공문을 보냈다.

이에 대해 전북도교육청 관계자는 "시험을 보지 않기 원하는 학생들을 위해 대안을 마련한 것뿐"이라며 "학생들이 시험을 보는 것을 막지 않는다"고 말했다.

진보 성향을 띤 서울시와 경기도 교육감 역시 일제고사에 대해 반대 의사를 표명했으나 특별한 조치를 내리지는 않았다.