Moon calls for more fair education policy

Dec 12, 2018, 09:25 am

		0
Source: Yonhap News

By AsiaToday reporters Lee Seok-jong

“People feel that the country’s education management system and the college entrance system are not fair,” President Moon Jae-in said on Tuesday.

“Many people doubt about fairness of school reports because they do not know exactly how students are evaluated. In the case of the country’s college entrance system, there are so many student selection systems that many parents find it difficult to find the right one,” the president said.

“People and parents don’t trust the fairness of the education system. They feel there are many irregularities in the system and that they are suffering from them.”

His remarks came at a briefing he received for the first time from the education and labor ministries on their 2019 policy plans at the government complex in the administrative city of Sejong.

The education ministry briefed Moon on their policy plans for next year, including guaranteeing basic education and national responsibility of Korean, Mathematics and English education, kicking off its free-tuition high school policy in the second semester next year before nationwide implementation in 2021, reforming vocational high schools by connecting regional industries, and deploying one or more job support officer at every vocational high school.

“We have been discussing for a long time about the goal of getting out of the education system that focuses only on college entrance exams while reinforcing public education by providing whole-person education,” Moon said. “However, since parents and students do not put confidence in school reports, they want more regular admissions to be expanded believing that the national college entrance exam is the fairest,” he said. “Without fairness and transparency of education policies, it is impossible to earn public trust for education reform.”

The president called for the education ministry to enhance transparency and fairness of education policies. “I ask you to make more effort so that people feel that all education policies from early childhood education to college education are carried out fairly and transparently,” Moon said.

In a briefing from the labor ministry, Moon said, “The government has to show visible results on the job issue starting next year.”

During the briefing, the labor ministry said it will push to provide up to 3 million won to support 80,000 young people in finding jobs, to provide 27 million won to companies that hire young people for up to three years, and to increase childcare leave payment to 50 percent from 40 percent.

Next week, five ministries will brief Moon on their policy plans for next year, and other ministries will do so in January.

#education policy #Moon Jae-in #college entrance #admission #irregularities