Written Test Weighting Removed from Private School Recruitment Exams... Concerns Over Declining Fairness

Gwangju Office of Education Changes Guidelines in Response to Private School Foundations' Requests
Teachers' Union: "Hiring Transparency Undermined... Calls for Revision"

The Gwangju Office of Education is facing controversy over fairness after issuing new guidelines that allow private schools to autonomously determine the weighting of the written test in their new teacher recruitment exams. While the Office explained that the measure reflects requests from private school foundations, the teachers' union is strongly opposing the decision, arguing that it undermines fairness and transparency in the hiring process.

Gwangju Office of Education.

According to the Gwangju Office of Education and the Gwangju Teachers' Union on June 19, an official notice titled "Results of Consultations on Improving the Private School New Teacher Recruitment Exam System" was sent to each private school on May 22. The notice states that the weighting of the first-stage written test has been changed from "at least 20%" to "at the discretion of the foundation." As a result, private schools can now hire teachers without considering written test scores at all.

The private school teacher recruitment process typically consists of a first-stage written test, a second-stage teaching demonstration, and a third-stage interview. Among these, the written test has been administered by the Office of Education, in parallel with the public school teacher recruitment exam. Previously, only 20% of the total score was based on the written test, but with the new guidelines, there is no longer a minimum requirement for its weighting.

The Gwangju Teachers' Union criticized the move, stating, "Even under the previous system, there were possibilities for hiring irregularities, as seen in the Myungjin High School case. Allowing full autonomy over the written test weighting could further weaken fairness." The union added, "This is a measure that betrays the expectations of prospective teachers and the local community." The union also demanded that all three stages of the recruitment process be entrusted to the Office of Education and called for incentives to be considered for schools that adopt this entrusted recruitment system.

The union further stated, "There was no prior consultation with the labor union during the process of revising these guidelines," and announced that it has begun a legal review regarding possible violations of the collective bargaining agreement. The union also plans to officially request the Gwangju Office of Education to revise the guidelines again.