Yoo Eun-hye on High School Credit System and Autonomous Private High School Backlash: "Avoid Highlighting Regime Discrimination"

Longest-Serving Minister of Education with 3 Years and 7 Months in Office
Critiques Moves to Implement High School Credit System and Abolish Autonomous Private High Schools
"82% of Research Schools Already Adapting to High School Credit System"
"Converting Autonomous Private High Schools to General High Schools Only Changes Student Pre-Selection Methods"
Points Out Limitations of Ministry of Education's Audit Authority on College Entrance Fairness Including Admission Scandals
"Need to Explore Alternatives Such as Establishing a Comprehensive Investigation Body"

Eunhye, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, is delivering a greeting at the 14th National Curriculum Revision Promotion Committee held at the Government Sejong Complex last January.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye stated on the 28th regarding the new government's policy to reconsider the implementation of the high school credit system and the abolition of autonomous private high schools, "The field is already changing. It is difficult to go against the changes in the field with the central government's policy will."

At a press briefing the day before, Deputy Prime Minister Yoo said, "In education, rather than emphasizing differences based on which administration it was, I hope we can share a common understanding that focuses on the future of children." The Moon Jae-in administration had been promoting △ the reform of the college entrance system for the 2028 academic year △ the reform of the teacher training system △ the revision of the 2022 curriculum △ the reorganization of the high school system △ and school space innovation. Yoo said, "These changes must continue. Looking at the policy direction and the situation on the ground in the next government, the direction can proceed without wavering."

Regarding the high school credit system, Yoo explained, "It is a policy that serves as a turning point to qualitatively change school education, and 82% of general high schools are operating as research-leading schools for the high school credit system." On the 2025 conversion of autonomous private high schools, international high schools, and foreign language high schools into general high schools, she said, "The school curriculum will be operated as is, and the school name can also be used as is, but only the method of pre-selecting students by the school will be changed," adding, "Considering the capabilities of future generations, I believe that the competitive high school entrance system aimed at entering hierarchically ranked universities as in the past cannot be sustained."

Yoo acknowledged that despite ongoing concerns about fairness in college admissions, including 'parental chance' advantages, there are clear limits to the Ministry of Education's authority. She emphasized "a response without exceptions" and conducted comprehensive audits on 16 private universities that had never been audited since their establishment through measures to promote private school innovation.

She said, "Although the Ministry of Education has audit authority, it does not have full investigative powers, so when suspicions arise regarding admissions, it may appear frustrating to outsiders," adding, "Admission suspicions cannot be resolved by a single audit, which is very regrettable." She continued, "We need to establish an organization that can conduct comprehensive investigations into admission corruption to ensure fairness in admissions," emphasizing, "Repeating the difficulty of resolving these issues solely through the Ministry of Education's audits is not right to the public."

Yoo said, "Private education expenses are one of the painful and regrettable issues," adding, "It is difficult to solve with short-term measures. Since the education sector's goal culminates in college entrance, it inevitably must go hand in hand with a comprehensive shift in the education paradigm." Yoo, who took office in October 2018, will step down on the 9th of next month. She will retire after 3 years and 7 months as the longest-serving Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education in history.