Gwangju High Schools Continue to Display "Admission Banners" Despite Human Rights Commission's Recommendation

Civic Group: "Promoting Academic Elitism... Undermining Public Education"
Repeated Boasting of College Admissions Results... "Supervision and Guidance Must Be Strengthened"

Despite guidelines from the National Human Rights Commission of Korea and the Office of Education, some high schools in the Gwangju area have been found to be publicly promoting their students' admissions to specific universities.

Gwangju Office of Education building.

On April 23, the civic group "Citizens' Coalition for a Society Without Academic Cliques" stated, "According to recent monitoring, Seolwol Girls' High School and Gwangju Kyungshin Girls' High School have displayed banners announcing admissions to specific universities on their building exteriors and main gates, while Gwangil High School and Bomun High School have promoted their students' admissions on their school websites." Daeseong Girls' High School introduced its university admissions results during a parent training session, and Munseong High School reportedly invited private education instructors to hold an admissions briefing session.

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has recommended that superintendents of education offices across the country refrain from promoting admissions to specific universities, citing the encouragement of academic elitism and infringement on students' rights as reasons. The Gwangju Office of Education has also repeatedly issued related guidelines.

The civic group stated, "Displaying educational achievements based on university admissions results undermines the public nature of education and hinders the diverse growth of each student," and added, "The Gwangju Office of Education must thoroughly supervise and guide schools, and private academies should also be cautioned not to engage in similar practices."